Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $85.59 and last traded at $84.85. Approximately 9,236,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 10,840,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.06 and a 200-day moving average of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.