Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 2.4% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares fell 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $95.53 and last traded at $95.69. 5,519,848 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 17,828,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BABA. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day moving average is $82.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 154.1% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 55,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Alibaba Group by 462.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 169,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,275,000 after purchasing an additional 139,134 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 76.7% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 22,259 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 9,663 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,656,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 52,685.7% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 11,085 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 11,064 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.