Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $402.25 and last traded at $402.3440, with a volume of 15279093 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $387.35.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts turned more bullish, with Loop Capital raising its price target on Alphabet to $490 from $355 and Oppenheimer lifting its target to $445, signaling more upside if AI and core ad growth stay strong. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports suggest Google is preparing major AI announcements for Google I/O, and BofA says the event should focus on AI innovation, which could highlight new monetization opportunities across Gemini and related products. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Business Insider reported that Google’s Gemini Flash model has been quietly winning AI customers, supporting the idea that Alphabet is gaining traction in enterprise AI before its biggest product reveals next week. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record first-ever yen bond issuance, raising about $3.6 billion to fund continued AI infrastructure spending and diversify its financing sources, which supports its heavy investment plans. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish commentary pieces pointed to stronger-than-expected YouTube revenue, ongoing AI momentum, and a higher earnings outlook, all of which reinforce Alphabet’s fundamental growth story. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet remains a widely watched “Mag 7” name, with investor attention also tied to Bill Ackman’s holdings and broader debate over whether large-cap tech valuations are getting stretched. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate revisions from Erste Group nudged FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts higher, but the changes were modest and mainly confirm steady expectations rather than a major new catalyst.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GOOGL. New Street Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Phillip Securities lifted their price target on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.84.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $327.43 and a 200 day moving average of $316.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $416,217,000. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% during the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,000,000 after purchasing an additional 23,107 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 21.2% during the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $405,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.