Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 9.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded up 9.3% on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $125.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $144.51 and last traded at $137.53. 68,377,350 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 151% from the average session volume of 27,286,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.79.

BABA has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays reduced their price target 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $585,479,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $325.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.