Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alibaba Group Call Options (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 308,026 call options on the company. This is an increase of 34% compared to the average volume of 229,776 call options.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 8.8 %

BABA traded up $7.55 during trading on Monday, hitting $93.48. 17,773,289 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,501,992. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.07. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

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.