Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $83.78 and last traded at $84.95. 4,477,077 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 10,057,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.82 and a 200 day moving average of $87.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,175 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.