Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $85.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.52% from the company’s previous close.

BABA has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Macquarie lowered shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.14.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA opened at $71.72 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $66.63 and a 1 year high of $102.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 116.7% in the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.