Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 2.6% - Here's Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) shares were down 2.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $142.50 and last traded at $143.72. Approximately 11,122,880 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 18,872,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $144.07.

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Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.3 %

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 company has a market cap of $321.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.91.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the third 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares in the last quarter. 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.