Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $180.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $100.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.36.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 10.4 %

NYSE BABA opened at $128.87 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.29 and a 200 day moving average of $93.43. The company has a market capitalization of $306.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.31. 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 has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $145.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 27,077 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $337,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 89,409.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 562,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,662,000 after buying an additional 561,492 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $10,303,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 811.6% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 25,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 22,831 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.