Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $222.00 to $292.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $259.66 and last traded at $260.80, with a volume of 5215532 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $253.08.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GOOGL. Citigroup raised their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.20.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at $598,149,304. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,371 shares during the period. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 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.