Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $86.69 and last traded at $86.40. Approximately 4,519,279 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 17,476,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.1 %

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 50 day moving average price is $97.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued 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 company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 636 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 32.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 23.1% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 10,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,735 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.