StockNews.com Downgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Hold

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $91.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.39. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 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. 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.