Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $117.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.41% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BABA. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.93.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 5.7 %

BABA opened at $143.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.99. The company has a market cap of $341.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.31. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $145.30. 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 results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.