Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 0.1% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) dropped 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $118.34 and last traded at $118.82. Approximately 4,214,936 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 20,622,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $300.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,214.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,378,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $578,992,000 after acquiring an additional 4,246,564 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $179,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,999 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.