Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 1.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $102.44 and last traded at $102.44. Approximately 16,237,952 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 20,413,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BABA. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $251.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.55.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,030,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polunin Capital Partners Ltd grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 218.1% in the 1st quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 1,325,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $175,221,000 after acquiring an additional 908,544 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.