Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Gap Up to $93.05

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Rating)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $93.05, but opened at $96.08. Alphabet shares last traded at $96.52, with a volume of 643,859 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Alphabet to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, October 27th. JMP Securities cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $145.00 to $132.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 25th. The information services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $57.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.36 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 26.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv acquired 800,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $13,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,522,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,878,216. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv acquired 800,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $13,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,522,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,878,216. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 855 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.15, for a total value of $77,933.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,122 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,870.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,461,702 shares of company stock worth $36,999,217 and sold 190,744 shares worth $8,564,640. Company insiders own 11.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $41,000. Belmont Capital LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 110.0% during the second quarter. Belmont Capital LLC now owns 21 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Newfound Research LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 53.8% during the second quarter. Newfound Research LLC now owns 40 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. DC Investments Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $225,000. 34.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Company Profile

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Alphabet Inc provides 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 offers products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, hardware, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.