Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 1.4%

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded down 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $69.29 and last traded at $69.61. 17,478,883 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 12,781,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $173.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.00.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the first quarter worth $53,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at $2,452,000. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at $390,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 11.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 46.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 7,816 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.