Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 0.1% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $136.25 and last traded at $134.68. Approximately 8,990,459 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 19,036,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.86. The stock has a market cap of $319.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $585,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $254,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.