Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price was up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $82.79 and last traded at $82.53. Approximately 2,789,211 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 10,507,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.