Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $341.93 and last traded at $340.3290, with a volume of 855362 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $336.01.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it disrupted a large residential proxy network that let bad actors route traffic through consumer devices, reducing devices exploited by “millions” — a security win that lowers operational and reputational risk. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by ‘millions’
• Positive Sentiment: Additional reporting highlights Google’s takedown of networks selling residential proxies — reinforcing the scale and impact of the action for users and enterprise partners. Google Disrupts Network That Allowed Bad Actors to Use Consumers’ IP Addresses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding AI features — adding image-generation capabilities to Chrome and accelerating deals to strengthen its Gemini model across media, voice and international markets — supporting growth in Search and Cloud. Google adds AI image generation to Chrome browser, side panel option for virtual assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage turned favorable this week (Needham, RBC and other upgrades/reiterations), and a report noted the stock trading higher after upgrades — supporting short-term buying interest. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 1.6% Higher on Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: The EU signaled steps to ensure rivals get access to Gemini services and data under digital rules — could broaden distribution but may reduce competitive edge; impact remains ambiguous. EU steps in to make sure Google gives rivals access to AI services and data
• Neutral Sentiment: Market notes and analyst previews expect earnings growth next week and highlight AI as the key catalyst; these expectations create upside if Alphabet posts a beat. Alphabet (GOOGL) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in these feeds appears anomalous (shows zero), so there’s no clear short-squeeze signal from the data posted here.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority proposed rules forcing Google to give publishers options to opt out of AI overviews and to change ranking/transparency practices — potential long-term revenue and product-friction risk in a major market. UK regulator proposes changes to Google search for publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to pay roughly $135 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit over handling of cellular data, which includes changes to Google Play and Android setup flows — a modest but tangible legal/operational cost and reminder of regulatory/legal exposure. Google to Pay $135 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Handling of Cellular Data

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. New Street Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $275.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.60.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $318.48 and its 200-day moving average is $263.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total value of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 222,297 shares of company stock worth $68,531,851 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,408,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank OH raised its holdings in Alphabet by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank OH now owns 4,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. lifted its position in Alphabet by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 170,560 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,385,000 after acquiring an additional 30,820 shares in the last quarter. Approach Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 26,544 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,308,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.