Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded down 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $86.18 and last traded at $86.54. 2,658,307 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 17,373,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.50. The company has a market capitalization of $205.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 14.6% during the second quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during 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.