Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were down 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $136.08 and last traded at $136.40. Approximately 7,808,547 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 18,717,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BABA. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.63 and a 200 day moving average of $98.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $334.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,180,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. 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.