Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares traded down 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $81.04 and last traded at $81.07. 5,941,980 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 10,421,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.31. The stock has a market cap of $192.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 17,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $269,000. APEIRON CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,475,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 35,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 6,153 shares during the period. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. 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.