Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $450.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $417.00 target price (up from $411.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.72.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

GOOGL stock opened at $350.50 on Thursday. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $235.84 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The company has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 20.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Premier Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google signed long-term nuclear-power agreements with Constellation Energy covering approximately 3,590 megawatts, including 890 megawatts of additional capacity. The contracts strengthen Alphabet’s ability to secure reliable electricity for AI data centers and provide evidence that management is addressing AI’s substantial power requirements. Google Signs Nuclear Deal With Constellation Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Unity Software launched an AI-powered game-creation platform that allows users to build playable games with natural-language prompts. The initiative could expand Google Play’s creator ecosystem, increase engagement and provide another commercial application for Alphabet’s AI models. Google and Unity Team to Let Users Build Their Own Games
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators remain constructive on Alphabet, citing strong margins, accelerating Google Cloud growth, continued search resilience and a price-to-earnings ratio near 17.6. Several reports describe the stock as undervalued relative to expected earnings and AI growth. Alphabet’s Chart Is Coiling—and the Fundamentals May Be Ready to Back It Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Google introduced SynthID, a website that identifies AI-generated images, video and audio. The tool may improve trust in Google’s AI ecosystem, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Google’s new SynthID website can identify AI-generated media
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action alleging investor losses during the May 19–July 16 class period. These announcements do not establish liability, but they add headline risk and could lead to legal costs or reputational concerns. Kaplan Fox Alphabet Investor Notice
• Negative Sentiment: A Finnish court ordered Google to halt work on two data centers pending environmental-impact assessments. Delays could increase costs or slow the expansion of computing capacity, although the near-term effect on Alphabet’s overall results is likely limited. Google ordered to halt work on two Finland data centers

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology and internet services company best known as the parent company of Google. Its primary business, Google Services, includes online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a range of hardware and subscription products.

Alphabet also operates Google Cloud, which provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, productivity software, and artificial intelligence services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.