Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was down 2.3% on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $137.00 to $130.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $86.96 and last traded at $87.31. Approximately 4,777,933 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 17,615,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.35.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $208.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35.

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 12.23% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

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.