Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 3% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price shot up 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $162.86 and last traded at $162.57. 10,864,768 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 14,377,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital set a $140.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.0%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $158.99 and a 200-day moving average of $153.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 20,764,276 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,354,877,000 after acquiring an additional 140,579 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,074.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,038,318 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,079,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524,354 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,293,597 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $946,125,000 after buying an additional 26,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth approximately $527,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co?founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high?profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.