Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 2% - Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) was down 2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $120.92 and last traded at $121.18. Approximately 3,069,175 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 26,321,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BABA. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $290.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $122.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

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

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,069,144,000 after buying an additional 2,885,154 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,136,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,480 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,131,558,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. 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.

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