Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price rose 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.09 and last traded at $100.03. Approximately 4,942,102 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 17,607,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company 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 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.70.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The company had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in 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. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors 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.