Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares traded down 5.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $105.15 and last traded at $109.66. 24,666,015 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 19,746,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $251.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.36.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.