Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded down 1.9% on Friday. The company traded as low as $108.58 and last traded at $109.0210. Approximately 6,613,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 11,543,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Nomura reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.89.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $271.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.13.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $14.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alibaba Group news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $91,855.12. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 613,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,337,644.70. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total value of $1,409,669.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 406,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,560,236. This represents a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,206,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $276,844,000 after buying an additional 86,613 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,410,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,071,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $157,082,000 after buying an additional 67,948 shares during the period. Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,828,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 754,749 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,441,000 after acquiring an additional 47,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem connecting consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao and Tmall, while its international commerce operations include Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Lazada and Trendyol. Alibaba also provides logistics services through Cainiao, consumer services through platforms such as Ele.me and Freshippo, and digital media and entertainment offerings.

Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing, data management, artificial intelligence and other technology services to businesses and organizations.