Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 1.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $115.73 and last traded at $114.62. 12,208,681 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 17,516,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.84. The stock has a market cap of $290.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 315.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.