StockNews.com Upgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.77. The stock had a trading volume of 15,150,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,671,164. The stock has a market cap of $207.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 8.98%. Alibaba Group's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.