Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) shot up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $145.20 and last traded at $142.92. 6,817,401 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 18,901,652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BABA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $117.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $319.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

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Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,881,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Fluent Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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.