Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $111.47 and last traded at $112.34. Approximately 6,796,961 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 20,531,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BABA. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000,000 after buying an additional 2,024,640 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $179,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,999 shares during the period. Finally, Polunin Capital Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 218.1% during the first quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 1,325,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $175,221,000 after purchasing an additional 908,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.