Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $150.36.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 3,214.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,378,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $578,992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,246,564 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $179,087,000 after buying an additional 1,030,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.92. The stock had a trading volume of 7,017,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,676,412. The business has a fifty day moving average of $126.60 and a 200 day moving average of $104.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $286.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 EPS 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.