Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $285.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.75% from the company’s previous close.

GOOGL has been the subject of several other research reports. Westpark Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.98.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $281.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $291.59.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total transaction of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,258.92. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.