Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1% Higher – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $82.79 and last traded at $82.53. 2,789,211 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 10,507,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $86.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

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.