Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 316,857 call options on the company. This is an increase of 34% compared to the typical volume of 236,793 call options.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $115.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.96. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $73.87 and a 1 year high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,558,646,000 after purchasing an additional 49,010,087 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,214.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,378,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $578,992,000 after acquiring an additional 4,246,564 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,131,558,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,069,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BABA. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.80.

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.