Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.20, but opened at $137.18. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $138.83, with a volume of 6,653,439 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $116.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.66. The stock has a market cap of $321.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 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.