Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $151.10 and last traded at $149.95, with a volume of 11681678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.93.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BABA. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $149.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Arete upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $152.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital set a $176.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $165.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,558,646,000 after acquiring an additional 49,010,087 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 20,764,276 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,354,877,000 after acquiring an additional 140,579 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,069,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885,154 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,136,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 85.6% during 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 during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $369.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.11.

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.