Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 1.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw its share price increase by 1.7% on Tuesday, following an analyst upgrade from Needham & Company LLC. The firm raised its price target for Alphabet’s stock from $210.00 to $225.00, while maintaining a buy rating. During trading, Alphabet reached a high of $195.40 and ended up trading at $195.15. The trading volume was approximately 7,573,527 shares, significantly lower than the average daily volume of 24,000,145 shares. Alphabet’s stock had previously closed at $191.81.

Analyst Ratings Overview

Several other research analysts have recently commented on Alphabet's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a buy rating for the company, setting a price target of $210.00 in a report dated December 12. KeyCorp adjusted their price target from $215.00 to $225.00, giving Alphabet an overweight rating in a report on January 10. Wells Fargo & Company also raised their target price from $187.00 to $190.00, assigning an equal weight rating on January 13. Additionally, Pivotal Research upped their price target to $225.00 with a buy rating on October 30, while Scotiabank boosted Alphabet’s rating to strong buy on October 11. Presently, market sentiment is relatively positive, with nine analysts rating the stock as hold, thirty as buy, and four as strong buy. The consensus rating stands at 'Moderate Buy', with a target price averaging $209.82, according to MarketBeat.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai recently sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet on November 6, at an average price of $177.36, totaling approximately $3,990,600. Despite this sale, he continues to hold 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at around $369.67 million. This sale represented a 1.07% decrease in his holdings. Furthermore, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares on October 30, receiving around $1,898,190 for these shares. Post-sale, he owns 330,466 shares valued at about $59.74 million, indicating a 3.08% decline in ownership. Over the past three months, insiders sold a total of 133,387 shares worth $24.37 million. Currently, company insiders constitute 11.55% of Alphabet’s stock ownership.

Institutional Holdings in Alphabet

Recent trends show institutional investors are actively trading Alphabet shares. Centerline Wealth Advisors LLC took a new position in the fourth quarter, investing $218,000. FFG Partners LLC increased its holdings by 0.8% and now owns 78,269 shares worth approximately $14.82 million. SMART Wealth LLC boosted its position by 178.1%, owning 7,702 shares valued at $1.46 million after acquiring additional shares. Other notable movements include Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC, which increased its holdings by 3.4%, now owning 9,881 shares worth $1.87 million. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. also raised its position by 2.2%, currently owning 155,940 shares valued at about $29.52 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds hold 40.03% of Alphabet stock.

Market Performance

Alphabet's 50-day moving average is $186.79, while its 200-day moving average stands at $173.61. The company shows a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04 as well as robust liquidity ratios. Alphabet has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27. Its beta of 0.98 indicates it moves in tandem with the market, reflecting stable performance.

Recent Earnings Report

On October 29, Alphabet announced its latest earnings results, showcasing $2.12 earnings per share (EPS), surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.83 by $0.29. Moreover, the company reported revenue of $88.27 billion, exceeding the expected $72.85 billion. With a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%, Alphabet has shown strong financial performance, illustrating solid growth compared to the previous year's EPS of $1.55. Analysts are projecting that Alphabet will generate 8.02 EPS for the current year.

About Alphabet Inc.

Alphabet Inc. is a technology company that offers a diverse range of products and platforms globally, including the United States, Europe, Asia, and beyond. Its operations are organized into segments: Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment provides an array of products and services, notably ads, Android, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive, and more.

Alphabet, Shares, Analyst