Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 1.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price dropped 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $169.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $95.73 and last traded at $97.79. Approximately 30,745,826 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the average daily volume of 20,106,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.37.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $287,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 56,554 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $306,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 30.7% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 186,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,790,000 after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 1,033.1% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 134,686 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,293,000 after purchasing an additional 122,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.55. The stock has a market cap of $246.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.