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

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $84.29 and last traded at $84.99. Approximately 3,517,330 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,294,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $202.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $90.49 and a 200 day moving average of $86.78.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth approximately $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $87,327,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the period. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at $115,995,000. 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.