Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $114.07.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BABA shares. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Alibaba Group stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $84.31. The company had a trading volume of 13,400,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,394,061. The firm's fifty day moving average is $92.78 and its 200-day moving average is $86.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $117.82. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.