Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were up 3.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $346.45 and last traded at $345.71. Approximately 22,185,188 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 20,759,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.45.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO could benefit Alphabet. Anthropic plans to go public this fall, potentially creating a valuation catalyst for Alphabet’s reported 14% stake. Alphabet could also benefit from the IPO through its cloud-computing and chip relationships with the AI company. What the Anthropic IPO Means for Amazon and Alphabet Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term power supply for AI infrastructure is improving. Google signed a multidecade power-purchase agreement with Fortum tied to output from Finland’s Loviisa nuclear plant. The agreement may help secure reliable, lower-carbon electricity for data centers as Alphabet expands AI and cloud capacity. Fortum Lands a Google Nuclear Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo continues to expand commercially. Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit launched public robotaxi service in Las Vegas and announced plans with Japanese partners to target a Tokyo service in 2027, adding potential long-term growth beyond advertising and cloud. Waymo to Bring Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Las Vegas
• Neutral Sentiment: AI safety cooperation may reduce regulatory risk but highlights ongoing concerns. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind are discussing common AI-safety measures with policymakers. Cooperation could improve Alphabet’s regulatory positioning, though it also reinforces investor concerns about potentially costly restrictions on frontier models. OpenAI, Google, Anthropic Discussing Collaboration on AI Safety
• Negative Sentiment: Potential federal limits on AI models are a major overhang. Proposed legislation could give regulators authority to block powerful AI systems before release, threatening the commercial value of Alphabet’s frontier models and some of its large cloud backlog. Senate’s Proposed AI Kill Switch
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about search economics. Bank of America data indicates Google traffic is stable, but rapid growth from Claude and Gemini and possible AI-driven changes to search could pressure monetization. Reddit was described as having faster advertising growth, adding competitive pressure. Google’s Traffic Numbers Look Fine, Its Search Economics Tell Another Story

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $343.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.30. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 450,875 shares of company stock valued at $11,984,482 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.