Alibaba (BABA) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

In the latest trading session, Alibaba (BABA) closed at $132.23, marking a -0.15% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.55% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.14%.Coming into today, shares of the online retailer had lost 0.06% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 8.04%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.22%.Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Alibaba in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.37, down 2.14% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $33.21 billion, indicating an 8.07% upward movement from the same quarter last year.For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.80 per share and a revenue of $138.29 billion, representing changes of +2.09% and +5.97%, respectively, from the prior year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Alibaba. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Alibaba is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Alibaba has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.05 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 22.05.Investors should also note that BABA has a PEG ratio of 0.5 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Internet - Commerce was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.33 at yesterday's closing price.The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, finds itself in the top 26% echelons of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.To follow BABA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks