Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was up 2% on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $360.16 and last traded at $359.51. Approximately 18,189,491 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 32,263,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $352.51.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.73.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its outperform rating on Alphabet, and Zacks also upgraded the stock to strong-buy, reinforcing bullish sentiment ahead of earnings. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple previews ahead of Alphabet’s upcoming results say the company has the ingredients for an earnings beat, with AI momentum, Google Cloud growth, and strong search advertising trends cited as key drivers. Zacks article
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet, which has been read as a strong vote of confidence from one of the market’s most influential investors. CNBC article
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also in the spotlight for its technical setup and for deeper AI partnership efforts, including work with AI search startup Parallel Web Systems, which could support longer-term product strength. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s new clean power purchase highlights continued investment in infrastructure and sustainability, but it is not likely to move the stock materially on its own. TechCrunch article
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Google to open Android and search-related data more broadly to AI rivals and search competitors, adding to concerns about pressure on Alphabet’s core ecosystem and competitive moat. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, an EU court upheld a small gambling-advertising fine, and reports said European authorities are preparing additional penalties, keeping regulatory risk in focus. Reuters article

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 20,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,329,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 18,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,681,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the second quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Lee Kelleher & Klein Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Buska Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 5.7% in the second quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $370.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

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.