Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 5.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) rose 5.9% on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $190.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $145.30 and last traded at $143.98. Approximately 36,925,402 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 29,088,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.97.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BABA. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.93.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $296,062,000 after acquiring an additional 178,999 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 100,975 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $10,715,000 after purchasing an additional 32,324 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $299,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after buying an additional 1,679,117 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $258,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.7 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $341.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. Analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

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.