Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) fell 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $81.82 and last traded at $81.99. 2,716,114 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 10,617,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BABA. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock 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 stock has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.59.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.