Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded up 2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $84.39 and last traded at $83.96. 4,927,332 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 17,358,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.56. The company has a market capitalization of $201.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 35.8% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 257,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,504,000 after acquiring an additional 67,750 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $454,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.