Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $85.42 and last traded at $84.65. 5,624,094 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 17,643,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.7 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

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.