Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JMP Securities Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective increased by analysts at JMP Securities from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “market outperform” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.54.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $254.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $209.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.36. 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:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.