Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $143.20, but opened at $137.18. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $138.83, with a volume of 6,653,439 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.66. The company has a market cap of $321.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its 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). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,088 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.