Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BABA. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $85.93 on Friday. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 636 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 32.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 3,254 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 23.1% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 10,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,735 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.2% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.