Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Given “Buy” Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $116.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 51.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $113.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.19.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.56. 6,328,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,938,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $102.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $30.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.59 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,233,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Alibaba Group by 16.7% during the second quarter. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd now owns 70,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,040,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 257,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $18,504,000 after buying an additional 67,750 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.