Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $143.75, but opened at $135.80. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $129.32, with a volume of 34,331,667 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released 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, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $566,124,000 after acquiring an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alibaba Group

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.