Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $108.22, but opened at $114.66. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $114.54, with a volume of 10,934,782 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BABA shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Arete Research lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.80.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $276.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,558,646,000 after acquiring an additional 49,010,087 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,214.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,378,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $578,992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,246,564 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 85.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,131,558,000 after buying an additional 3,947,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,069,144,000 after buying an additional 2,885,154 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.