Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were down 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $83.78 and last traded at $84.95. Approximately 4,477,077 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 10,057,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BABA. 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. Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $199.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.