Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 2.5% - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $126.10 and last traded at $127.51. 11,785,296 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 18,354,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.70. The company has a market cap of $334.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.19 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $585,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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.