StockNews.com Downgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Hold

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

Several other research firms also recently commented on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.4 %

BABA traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.23. 15,906,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,071,090. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.86. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $148.43. The company has a market cap of $314.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Appaloosa LP increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after acquiring an additional 438,537 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $431,906,000 after acquiring an additional 78,757 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.