Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 2.4% - Here's What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $95.53 and last traded at $95.69. 5,519,848 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 17,828,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BABA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $244.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 79.5% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,610,884 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $188,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,479 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 384.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,424,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $102,596,000 after buying an additional 1,130,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 523.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $96,163,000 after buying an additional 1,121,500 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.