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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The company had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 315.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in 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.