Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 1.2%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $79.92 and last traded at $79.40. Approximately 3,870,072 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 17,675,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BABA shares. Macquarie downgraded Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.49.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $201.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.13.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 564,181 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,937,000 after buying an additional 16,625 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 23,308 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 533,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,311,000 after purchasing an additional 116,898 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 23,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.