Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.5% - What's Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)'s stock saw a decline of 2.5% during trading on Tuesday. The share price went as low as $126.10 before last trading at $127.51. In total, about 11,785,296 shares changed hands during the day, marking a 36% decrease from the average daily volume of 18,354,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Recent activity from analysts regarding BABA shares has been noteworthy. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating, also raising their price target for the stock significantly from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on February 25th. StockNews.com also upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating on February 21st. Mizuho increased their price target for Alibaba from $92.00 to $113.00 and assigned an "outperform" rating in a report dated November 12th. Additionally, Benchmark raised their price objective from $118.00 to $190.00 with a "buy" rating on February 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price from $110.00 to $125.00, giving an "outperform" rating in their analysis on February 19th. Overall, fifteen equities research analysts have rated Alibaba with a buy rating while one has issued a strong buy rating. According to MarketBeat data, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company's current trading metrics are interesting to note as well. The 50-day simple moving average stands at $104.35 while the 200-day simple moving average is at $96.30. The current ratio is reported at 1.48, with a quick ratio also at 1.48, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Furthermore, Alibaba Group has a market capitalization of $332.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.61, and a beta of 0.31.

In terms of financial performance, Alibaba Group last reported its earnings on February 20th. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.77, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.07. The revenue for the quarter reached $38.38 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. The return on equity for Alibaba Group was calculated at 12.89% with a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts predict that Alibaba will post an EPS of 7.86 for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Changes in positions among institutional investors for Alibaba Group have also been noted recently. For instance, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in the company by 0.3% in the third quarter, resulting in ownership of 18,460,434 shares valued at approximately $1.96 billion after acquiring an additional 60,667 shares. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, increasing their shares to 11,843,158, valued at about $1 billion following the acquisition of 1,843,158 additional shares. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its position in Alibaba shares by 64.1% in the third quarter, now owning 8,827,600 shares valued around $936.78 million. Norges Bank purchased a new stake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $585.48 million. Bank of America Corp DE also expanded its holdings by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Overall, institutional investors hold 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited operates through its subsidiaries, providing technology infrastructure and marketing reach to assist merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses in engaging with their customers both in China and worldwide. The company functions through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Alibaba Group Right Now?

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