Jefferies Financial Group Raises Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target to $178.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group raised Alibaba Group's price target from $165.00 to $178.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.97% from the previous closing price.
• Benchmark also increased their price target for Alibaba from $176.00 to $195.00, indicating strong positive sentiment among analysts towards the stock.
• The current consensus rating for Alibaba Group is a Buy from multiple analysts, with an average target price of $167.40.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $165.00 to $178.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

BABA has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $167.40.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.02. 20,865,680 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,758,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $123.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.51. The company has a market capitalization of $369.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.11. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $80.06 and a 12-month high of $156.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% during the second 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 period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Alibaba Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 20,764,276 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,354,877,000 after acquiring an additional 140,579 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 22.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,069,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885,154 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Alibaba Group by 43.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,136,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,480 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,131,558,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947,460 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.