Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 3% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded down 3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $99.69 and last traded at $99.27. 7,053,149 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 20,367,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.3 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $246.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,062,000 after purchasing an additional 178,999 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $277,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 26.1% in the third quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 14,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Systrade AG purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $1,080,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 361.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,172 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 3,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.