Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $137.00 to $130.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $86.96 and last traded at $87.31. 4,777,933 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 17,615,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.35.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.77. The firm has a market cap of $208.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.