Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price fell 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $129.93 and last traded at $130.44. 5,335,425 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 19,364,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group 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 current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.49 and a 200 day moving average of $103.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.