Alibaba shares decrease almost 10%

The shares of Alibaba.com fell to HK$7.39 or $0.95 cents (decrease of 9.9% from previous session) in Hong Kong trade Friday, following the company report on a larger-than-expected decline in net income for the fourth quarter.

Alibaba.com’s September through December net income had made 199.4 million yuan ($29.2 million), showing a decrease of 57% from 465.3 million yuan in the corresponding period of 2007. 

Citi downgraded the company to "sell" from "hold/high risk," suggesting investors to take profit on the stock which have gained nearly 50% since the start of the year. Moreover, Citi also noted that Alibaba had increased its investment by hiring about 2,000 to 3,000 employees and supporting its technology infrastructure. Consequently, Citi lowered its price target on the share from HK$5.75 to HK$4.50. 

Dick Wei, J.P. Morgan analyst, kept his "underweight" rating on the stock unchanged, saying the company might see a “good margin leverage” coming out of the macro downturn. “However, with the timing of demand recovery still uncertain, we believe share price lacks support at current valuation," added he. 

Alibaba.com is an operator of an online merchandise-trading site for businesses and is 39% owned by Yahoo Inc.