Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 2.6% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $102.38 and last traded at $102.6740. Approximately 8,211,681 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 11,393,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.38.

Latest Alibaba Group News

These are some of the BABA news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank upgraded Alibaba from “hold” to “buy” and set a $140 price target, signaling confidence in the shares’ potential recovery. DZ Bank rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba is pursuing a Hong Kong listing for its T-Head semiconductor unit. A separate listing could highlight the value of its in-house chip business, but the unit’s prospects are also exposed to chip-policy and geopolitical risks. Alibaba pursues T-Head listing
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say the U.S. Commerce Department is preparing rules that could restrict Chinese AI developers from remotely using advanced Nvidia processors hosted in overseas data centers. That could limit computing capacity for Alibaba’s cloud and AI businesses. Potential U.S. AI chip restrictions

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Monday, September 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 6.9%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $39.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $14.75 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alibaba Group

In other news, insider Fang Jiang sold 885,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total value of $11,995,435.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,679,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,401,764.35. This represents a 15.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $91,855.12. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 613,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,337,644.70. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,421 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 10,851 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in 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 is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates digital platforms that connect consumers, merchants, businesses and other participants in commerce. Its businesses include China-focused marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall, international platforms including AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and Alibaba Cloud, which provides cloud computing and related technology services. The group also has operations in areas such as logistics, local services and digital media.