Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Announces Earnings Results

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $15.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $15.28 by $0.35, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The company had revenue of $224.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.48 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.55%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of BABA opened at $77.60 on Friday. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $74.58 and a 1-year high of $121.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.54 and a 200 day moving average of $87.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ovata Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,553,000. Maven Securities LTD raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 129,433 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,788,000 after acquiring an additional 9,549 shares in the last quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 453,636 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,271,000 after acquiring an additional 88,898 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,328,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 650.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,172,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $136.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.20.

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.