Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Alibaba Group Call Options (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 453,201 call options on the company. This is an increase of 88% compared to the average daily volume of 240,735 call options.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA stock traded up $2.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,072,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,020,852. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alibaba Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $117.82. The company has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $86.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.59.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm 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 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BABA. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.13.

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.

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