Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 28,470,000 shares, an increase of 11.8% from the July 31st total of 25,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock opened at $135.49 on Wednesday. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $83.45 and a fifty-two week high of $137.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $74.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 23.49%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alphabet from $123.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alphabet from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $145.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 22,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $374,647.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 16,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $1,934,945.73. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,282,738.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 22,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $374,647.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 185,787 shares of company stock valued at $8,950,675. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Corrado Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $31,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 340 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. Milestone Wealth LLC now owns 380 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. 27.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

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, hardware, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.