Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know

Alibaba (BABA) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.Over the past month, shares of this online retailer have returned -23.7%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.7% change. During this period, the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry, which Alibaba falls in, has lost 5.7%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.Alibaba is expected to post earnings of $2.59 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +25.7%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $7.26 points to a change of +86.6% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -1.3%.For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $9.94 indicates a change of +36.8% from what Alibaba is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -1.8%.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Alibaba.The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:12 Month EPSProjected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.In the case of Alibaba, the consensus sales estimate of $38.72 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +12%. The $166.44 billion and $182.97 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +14.5% and +9.9%, respectively.Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryAlibaba reported revenues of $35.28 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +8.3%. EPS of $0.09 for the same period compares with $1.73 a year ago.Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.23 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.15%. The EPS surprise was -92.62%.Over the last four quarters, Alibaba surpassed consensus EPS estimates times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates three times over this period.ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.Alibaba is graded C on this front, indicating that it is trading at par with its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Alibaba. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks