Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $312.37 and last traded at $311.76. 44,168,414 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 36,586,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.38.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Alphabet’s “quiet edge” — big hidden assets (14% stake in Anthropic, an early SpaceX stake and massive device distribution) that amplify AI and cloud upside beyond Search and YouTube. Alphabet’s Quiet Edge: The Hidden Assets Powering Its Run
• Positive Sentiment: South Korea approved Google’s request to export high‑precision map data — clears a major market access barrier for Google Maps and mapping-related revenue/opportunity in Korea. South Korea approves Google bid to export high-precision map data
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Meta will rent Google’s TPU AI chips for model training — validation of Google’s AI infrastructure business and a potential multi‑billion revenue stream for cloud/TPU services. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta, Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet folded robotics unit Intrinsic into Google and signals Gemini may power next‑gen robots — deepens AI product integration and expands commercial AI addressable market. Alphabet’s robotics platform Intrinsic joins Google to support AI models
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 (image‑generation model) with faster, better outputs — product improvements that help retain user engagement across AI services. Google rolls out Nano Banana 2
• Positive Sentiment: Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller increased his Alphabet stake again — a notable institutional vote of confidence often read positively by the market. Druckenmiller Piled Into Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other analyst pieces reiterate Alphabet’s AI‑fueled edge in Search and Cloud vs. Meta, reinforcing the consensus growth story but not changing near‑term guidance. Meta Platforms vs. Alphabet: Which Digital Ad Behemoth Has an Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo’s planned expansion toward Chicago signals long‑term commercialization progress but remains a multi‑year revenue story rather than an immediate profit driver. Waymo to bring driverless cars to Chicago
• Negative Sentiment: Belgian competition watchdog opened a probe into Google’s online ad pricing practices — regulatory and legal risk that could pressure ad revenue or require business changes. Belgian watchdog opens probe into Google’s online ad price practices
• Negative Sentiment: Internal tensions: 100+ Google AI employees urged limits on some military uses of Gemini, highlighting governance/ethical frictions that could complicate product deployment and public perception. Google Workers Seek ‘Red Lines’ on Military A.I.
• Negative Sentiment: Schaeffer’s options commentary warns bulls to watch for faltering action and offers a trade for subscribers — a signal some traders are positioning for short‑term downside or increased volatility. Bulls Should Keep Watch on Faltering Alphabet Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Alphabet from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.57.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.77. The company has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,112,482 shares of company stock valued at $119,145,289. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Brooktree Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.9% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,277,000 after purchasing an additional 7,180 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares during the period. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the second quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.