Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 1,387,134 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 334% compared to the typical volume of 319,866 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BABA. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded down $3.74 on Thursday, hitting $116.59. The stock had a trading volume of 10,042,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,962,652. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $71.80 and a one year high of $148.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $117.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.53. The stock has a market cap of $278.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.22.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio is 13.83%.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $911,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the first quarter worth approximately $1,948,000. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.3% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 117,943 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,596,000 after purchasing an additional 18,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $421,000. 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.