Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $114.07.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after buying an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $85.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $203.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.49.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.