Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded down 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $90.01 and last traded at $90.79. 6,668,636 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 17,588,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BABA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.18 and a 200-day moving average of $85.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The company had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $620,000. Hamilton Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,479,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 356.3% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 63,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,707,000 after buying an additional 49,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 56,554 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,001,000 after buying an additional 2,703 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.