Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 1.5%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $83.38 and last traded at $83.43. 4,727,354 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 16,326,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $214.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,651,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $329,367,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $320,000. 13.47% of the stock is 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.