Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 0.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price dropped 0.8% on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $114.00 to $113.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $77.81 and last traded at $78.73. Approximately 4,368,097 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 17,748,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.37.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Macquarie downgraded Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WP Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter worth about $778,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 10.3% during the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 879,377 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,632,000 after purchasing an additional 82,368 shares during the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 445.0% during the first quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,169 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 8,303 shares during the last quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 8.8% during the first quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. now owns 29,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 12.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.60 and a 200 day moving average of $75.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share 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.