Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) rose 1.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $108.45 and last traded at $106.35. 13,285,139 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 20,273,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $126.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.64. The company has a market cap of $270.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Remove Ads

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Truefg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at $278,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at $797,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 2,586.0% during the first quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 268,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,517,000 after buying an additional 258,600 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.