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

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded down 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. 4,368,097 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 17,748,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.37.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BABA. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.49.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 16.7% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 990 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 10,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.11. The company has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 EPS for the current 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.