Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 0.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) fell 0.8% during trading 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. 4,368,097 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 17,748,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.37.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.49.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WP Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $778,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 879,377 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,632,000 after purchasing an additional 82,368 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 445.0% in the 1st quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,169 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 8,303 shares in the last quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. now owns 29,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The company 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 company earned $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.