Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price rose 3.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $85.59 and last traded at $85.16. Approximately 21,072,995 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 105% from the average daily volume of 10,289,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.86.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.