Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were down 2.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $145.60 and last traded at $148.05. Approximately 10,204,322 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 12,371,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Loop Capital set a $140.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.39.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The specialty retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $34.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.80 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 12.38%.Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 101.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co?founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high?profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.