Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 3.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Alibaba fell 3.5% intraday to $135.27, trading slightly below average volume and below its 200‑day moving average of $153.52.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” (16 Buys vs. 6 Holds) and an average price target of $187.68, including recent notable raises such as Nomura’s $237 target.
• The latest quarter reported $40.71 billion in revenue and $0.13 EPS; Alibaba trades at a P/E of ~25.5 and PEG of 2.54 with low leverage (debt/equity 0.22), supporting analysts’ favorable outlook.

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $134.46 and last traded at $135.2710. 11,248,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 12,011,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Nomura lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $193.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. DZ Bank cut Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Alibaba Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.68.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.09 and a 200-day moving average of $153.52.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $40.71 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 26.4% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 34.4% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 16,420 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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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