Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 4.1% – Should You Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) dropped 4.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $113.93 and last traded at $114.03. 9,188,214 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 12,181,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Nomura decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.70.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.80. The company has a market capitalization of $270.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. The firm had revenue of $39.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $14.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alibaba Group

In other Alibaba Group news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total transaction of $81,941.20. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 607,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,531.40. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.95, for a total value of $68,364,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,658,600. The trade was a 96.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $953,527,000 after purchasing an additional 466,847 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $782,135,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $594,477,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Alibaba Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,206,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $276,844,000 after purchasing an additional 86,613 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.