Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.55 and last traded at $167.79. 12,112,399 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 20,916,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Arete upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $152.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $167.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $153.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.18.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.8%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $400.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.48.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 23.4% during the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,510,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $728,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,789 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 52.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 785,494 shares in the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,373 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $179,305,000 after acquiring an additional 404,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 53.1% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 13,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alibaba Group

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.