Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.8% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price was up 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.42 and last traded at $84.65. Approximately 5,624,094 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 17,643,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BABA. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Macquarie upgraded shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $12,656,000. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 76.7% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 22,259 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 9,663 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $631,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.