Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 10,394,267 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 17,602,400 shares.The stock last traded at $87.77 and had previously closed at $90.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BABA. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Alibaba Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 87,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,297,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 53.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.2% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 154,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 46,646 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.