Alibaba Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 308,026 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 229,776 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.6% during the second quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 7.4 %

NYSE BABA opened at $92.32 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group has a 12 month low of $66.63 and a 12 month high of $117.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.