Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 10,326,423 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 17,657,020 shares.The stock last traded at $110.10 and had previously closed at $117.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.12.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 6.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $277.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 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.