Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Rating Lowered to “Moderate Buy” at Phillip Securities

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) was downgraded by analysts at Phillip Securities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on GOOG. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.56.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.5%

Alphabet stock opened at $239.94 on Monday. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $240.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $96,465,000 after purchasing an additional 20,855 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 23,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,275,000. Finally, NDVR Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 5,247 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.