Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BABA. Barclays upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.23. The company had a trading volume of 15,906,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,071,090. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $119.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.86. Alibaba Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $148.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rings Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rings Capital Management LLC now owns 7,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Global Endowment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Endowment Management LP now owns 7,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 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.