StockNews.com Upgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to “Strong-Buy”

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Alibaba Group stock traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.94. The stock had a trading volume of 11,737,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,509,152. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $117.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $205.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.06.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 636 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 32.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 23.1% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 10,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,735 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 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.