Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 5.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 5.9% on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $190.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $145.30 and last traded at $143.98. 36,925,402 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 29,088,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.97.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BABA. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.43 and a 200-day moving average of $92.99. The company has a market capitalization of $341.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

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.