Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 1.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rose 1.1% on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $175.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $158.39 and last traded at $157.93. Approximately 5,806,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 29,767,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.28.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Alphabet from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $178.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

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