Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 4% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $136.81 and last traded at $137.42. Approximately 11,060,869 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 18,950,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 4.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $324.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. 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 50 day moving average price of $114.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.04.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released 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 analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rings Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rings Capital Management LLC now owns 7,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Global Endowment Management LP raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Endowment Management LP now owns 7,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.