Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 1.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares shot up 1.1% on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $158.00 to $170.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $157.08 and last traded at $156.13. 5,858,530 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 30,020,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.40.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Barclays cut their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. DC Investments Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $114,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $225,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $206,000. Eudaimonia Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.1% in the first quarter. Eudaimonia Advisors LLC now owns 99 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $281,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.95 and its 200 day moving average is $140.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.