Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.91.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BABA. Macquarie downgraded Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 4.6% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 32.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $71.30 on Friday. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.46. The company has a market capitalization of $180.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

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.