Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price fell 5.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $105.15 and last traded at $109.66. 24,666,015 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 19,746,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 5.8 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly 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). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000,000 after buying an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 95.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $179,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polunin Capital Partners Ltd grew its position in Alibaba Group by 218.1% during the first quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 1,325,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $175,221,000 after acquiring an additional 908,544 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.