Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after BNP Paribas Exane upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $132.64 and last traded at $131.9660. Approximately 7,367,968 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 11,662,329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.43.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DZ Bank cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Nomura lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $193.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 95.2% in the first quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $314.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $40.71 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.