Erste Group Bank Upgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Buy

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was upgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Sunday, August 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $153.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BABA stock opened at $187.94 on Friday. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $80.06 and a 52-week high of $192.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.0% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 85.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.