Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price was down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $81.04 and last traded at $81.07. Approximately 5,941,980 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 10,421,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 3.8 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $191.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during 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 buying an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third 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 valued at $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.