Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 2.7% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares traded up 2.7% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $111.17 and last traded at $108.1350. Approximately 18,866,675 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 65% from the average session volume of 11,412,923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Monday, September 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. HSBC set a $170.00 target price on Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 2.7%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.60. The company has a market capitalization of $269.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. The firm had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $14.75 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alibaba Group

In other Alibaba Group news, insider Fang Jiang sold 885,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total value of $11,995,435.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,679,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,401,764.35. The trade was a 15.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Tsai purchased 720,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.29 per share, with a total value of $10,288,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 114,979,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,052,310.72. This represents a 0.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 107.4% in the third quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 35,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 44.1% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 49,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem that connects consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces, technology platforms and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace, and Tmall, which enables brands and retailers to sell directly to consumers. Alibaba also operates 1688, a business-to-business wholesale marketplace.