Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were down 2.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $131.40 and last traded at $132.75. Approximately 5,566,554 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 19,043,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.09. The company has a market cap of $314.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Appaloosa LP increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during 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 buying an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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. 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.