Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 2% Following Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $328.52 and last traded at $333.04. 64,497,395 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 97% from the average session volume of 32,744,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.71.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total transaction of $314,001.15. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,229.80. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $34,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,380. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Alphabet from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $233.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.60.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo raised $16 billion in a financing round valuing the unit at about $126B — reduces Alphabet’s near‑term cash burden for autonomous driving and validates Waymo as a high‑value asset. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud scored a five‑year AI/cloud deal with Liberty Global to deploy Gemini models across major European cable operators — a meaningful enterprise win for Cloud/AI monetization. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Humana launched an AI agent assist built on Google Cloud, showing continued vertical adoption of Google’s AI stack in healthcare — adds proof points for Cloud/AI customer traction. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: WSJ reports Google is investing heavily in renewables and grid deals to secure data‑center power for AI — improves long‑term operating reliability and cost outlook for Cloud. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Street expectations are high for Q4 (Search and Cloud momentum) — upside if results beat, but elevated expectations increase downside risk if guidance or AI monetization details disappoint. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets (Jefferies, Bernstein and others) — mixed signals that can amplify intraday swings around the print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: Alphabet’s CAO sold 933 shares (small reduction) — typically a modest signal but noted by traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Talent movement: Microsoft hired a Google exec for a security role — a minor talent‑flow headline that traders may watch but is unlikely to move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The Justice Department and states will appeal a prior antitrust ruling on Google Search/Chrome — keeps legal overhang and potential future remedies on the table. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo faces heightened regulatory scrutiny and a Senate hearing on safety after federal probes — raises execution and PR risk for Alphabet’s autonomous unit despite the large financing. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Google agreed to pay ~$135M to settle an Android data‑transfer lawsuit — a tangible legal expense and reminder of ongoing regulatory/legal costs. Read More.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.37.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 17,667.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,640,000 after purchasing an additional 15,159,273 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. 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.