Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $84.29 and last traded at $84.99. 3,517,330 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 17,294,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $202.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.68.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth approximately $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $115,995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.