Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $137.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $103.60 and last traded at $103.30. 4,610,551 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 17,870,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.84.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. EPIQ Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. EPIQ Capital Group LLC now owns 46,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,396,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.85 and its 200-day moving average is $81.97. The company has a market capitalization of $253.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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

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.