Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $84.29 and last traded at $84.99. Approximately 3,517,330 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,294,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.83 and its 200-day moving average is $86.68. The company has a market capitalization of $202.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth $353,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 8,388 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,719,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.4% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 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.