Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were down 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $85.68 and last traded at $85.77. Approximately 5,887,876 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 17,620,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $205.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd 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 period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the 3rd 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 period. 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.