Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) fell 2.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $81.70 and last traded at $82.31. 7,980,854 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 17,350,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price 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 $196.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.47.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 valued at $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after buying an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 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.