Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 6.1% - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $110.31 and last traded at $109.80. 17,181,111 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 21,031,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.0 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $284.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $89.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently 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.