Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were up 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $87.36 and last traded at $86.22. Approximately 7,186,703 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 7,763,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie raised 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $203.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.11 and its 200-day moving average is $87.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings 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 valued at $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in 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 worth $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. 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.