Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $133.63 and last traded at $134.91. Approximately 6,650,302 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 19,010,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BABA. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $315.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.64.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in 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 worth $566,124,000 after buying an additional 438,537 shares in 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.