Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $119.54, but opened at $126.59. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $122.30, with a volume of 18,921,564 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $296.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $91.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.02.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 521.1% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 260,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $22,131,000 after acquiring an additional 218,860 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,039 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Global Frontier Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,239,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Alibaba Group by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,512,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,284,000 after purchasing an additional 490,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.