Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was down 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $97.68 and last traded at $99.23. Approximately 4,273,827 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 17,769,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. Discerene Group LP grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,021,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,627,000 after purchasing an additional 529,237 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,830,387 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $131,788,000 after purchasing an additional 150,488 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.