Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $129.02 and last traded at $127.18, with a volume of 42016984 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $124.73.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BABA. Barclays lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated 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 lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,062,000 after purchasing an additional 178,999 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 47.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 100,975 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,715,000 after purchasing an additional 32,324 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $299,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $258,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $323.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.42. 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 (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.