Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 4% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price dropped 4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $136.81 and last traded at $137.42. Approximately 11,060,869 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 18,950,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $321.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $1,107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 42,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,551,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.