Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 10,394,267 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 17,602,400 shares.The stock last traded at $87.77 and had previously closed at $90.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.7 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.