Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 0.2% - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $130.20 and last traded at $132.33. 5,723,638 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 20,582,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.53. The stock has a market cap of $316.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $38.38 billion during 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,214.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,378,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $578,992,000 after acquiring an additional 4,246,564 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,885,154 shares in the last quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $295,270,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alibaba Group

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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