Synovus Financial Corp Acquires 481 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at $89,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,252 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 59,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 13,351 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Alibaba Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 114,981 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,202,000 after purchasing an additional 20,654 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $87.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $208.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.74 and its 200 day moving average is $86.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Profile

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.