Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $125.79, but opened at $137.81. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $139.63, with a volume of 51,119,766 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,995,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $323.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.