Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target Cut to $200.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 80.71% from the company’s previous close.

BABA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler cut Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC set a $170.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA stock traded down $0.69 on Monday, hitting $110.67. 3,233,444 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,600,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $182.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.55. The firm has a market cap of $275.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $14.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $1,409,669.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 406,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,560,236. This represents a 20.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Fang Jiang sold 885,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total value of $11,995,435.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,679,097 shares in the company, valued at $63,401,764.35. This trade represents a 15.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock worth $13,563,304. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $160,410,000. Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $106,828,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,417,000. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,810,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 104.6% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 564,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,862,000 after acquiring an additional 288,738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem connecting consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao and Tmall, while its international commerce operations include Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Lazada and Trendyol. Alibaba also provides logistics services through Cainiao, consumer services through platforms such as Ele.me and Freshippo, and digital media and entertainment offerings.

Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing, data management, artificial intelligence and other technology services to businesses and organizations.