StockNews.com Downgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Hold

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BABA. Barclays increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Alibaba Group stock opened at $135.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $148.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $120.65 and its 200-day moving average is $102.09. The company has a market cap of $322.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 60.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 177.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at $63,929,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.