Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $87.26 and last traded at $87.89. Approximately 16,164,907 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 17,628,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $211.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after buying an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.