Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $133.88 and last traded at $133.87. Approximately 4,308,888 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 28,056,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $122.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.03. The firm has a market cap of $314.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $4,881,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Fluent Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.