Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 3.2%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price fell 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $72.31 and last traded at $72.44. 5,843,188 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 18,342,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Macquarie cut shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 4.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $180.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.59 and its 200-day moving average is $76.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,582,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $259,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,397 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,899 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 100.0% in the first quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 11,308 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 2,774.2% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,023,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.