Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $133.30 and last traded at $134.88. Approximately 4,953,480 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 18,970,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $323.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.40 and a 200-day moving average of $100.30.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,180,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.