Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 2.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Alibaba shares fell 2.8% to $148.05 (intraday low $145.60) on Thursday, with 10,204,322 shares traded—about 18% below the average session volume.
• Analysts are mixed but the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $195.17, after recent target changes (e.g., Bernstein to $190, JPMorgan to $230, Nomura to $237).
• In the latest quarter Alibaba missed expectations, reporting EPS of $0.61 versus $0.66 expected and revenue of $34.8B versus $41.8B expected, though revenue was up about 9% year‑over‑year.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $145.60 and last traded at $148.05. 10,204,322 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 12,371,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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, Nomura increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $193.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $159.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.18. The company has a market capitalization of $353.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.80 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 20,764,276 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,354,877,000 after purchasing an additional 140,579 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Alibaba Group by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $953,527,000 after acquiring an additional 466,847 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $782,135,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter worth $527,243,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alibaba Group

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.

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