Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $106.75, but opened at $110.84. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $109.81, with a volume of 4,227,570 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $263.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $127.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Appaloosa LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,610,035 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $390,885,000 after purchasing an additional 752,275 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.