Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 0.9% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $82.72 and last traded at $83.74. Approximately 9,643,066 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 11,401,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 3.8 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.59 and a 200 day moving average of $87.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,801,240,000 after buying an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 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.