Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.91.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BABA. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Macquarie lowered Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $69.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 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 has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.7% in 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. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 32.9% during 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. increased 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 valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.