Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

BABA has been the topic of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA traded down $2.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $87.77. 10,394,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,593,230. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.47. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $117.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.