Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 5.4% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price shot up 5.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $161.50 and last traded at $161.13. 21,328,807 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 20,627,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. CLSA raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research cut Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Arete raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $152.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $195.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.18.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.14. The company has a market capitalization of $384.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,510,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $728,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,789 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 52.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,293,085 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,215,000 after buying an additional 785,494 shares in the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.9% in the second quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. now owns 67,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,686,000 after buying an additional 4,373 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 42.6% during the first quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $179,305,000 after buying an additional 404,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth approximately $15,318,000. 13.47% of the stock is 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.