Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 0.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) were down 0.8% on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $114.00 to $113.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $77.81 and last traded at $78.73. Approximately 4,368,097 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 17,748,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.37.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BABA. Citigroup decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Macquarie lowered shares of Alibaba Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,727 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 990 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 10,658 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.11. The company has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Alibaba Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.