Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $129.33, but opened at $117.57. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $117.66, with a volume of 12,869,710 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BABA. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. 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 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). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake 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 holdings in Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 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.