The most recent trading session ended with Alibaba (BABA) standing at $99.83, reflecting a -0.1% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.37%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.78%.

The online retailer's stock has dropped by 5.83% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 0.07% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.67%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Alibaba in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.09, showcasing a 2.34% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $33.25 billion, up 7.93% from the prior-year quarter.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $8.94 per share and revenue of $140.46 billion, indicating changes of +3.71% and +7.63%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Alibaba should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 1.89% increase. Alibaba is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking at valuation, Alibaba is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.18. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 23.51.

Meanwhile, BABA's PEG ratio is currently 0.42. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Internet - Commerce was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.25 at yesterday's closing price.

The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 69, positioning it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.