Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 0.8% Higher - Here's Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) rose 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.35 and last traded at $84.79. Approximately 7,391,349 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 17,251,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.97.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third 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 valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.