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 Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 316,857 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 34% compared to the average volume of 236,793 call options.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,074,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,948,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $563,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Summa Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 28.7% during the first quarter. Summa Corp. now owns 71,673 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital set a $176.00 target price on Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Arete cut Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $153.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Arete Research cut Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.80.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded down $2.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $114.12. 5,176,684 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,746,627. The company's 50 day moving average is $117.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $73.87 and a 52 week high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

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

About Alibaba Group

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.