Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.9% - Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $136.08 and last traded at $136.40. Approximately 7,808,547 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 18,717,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $144.07.

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Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.18.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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