Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective boosted by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $288.00 to $330.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on GOOGL. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Mizuho set a $325.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.98.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $281.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.68. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $291.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $694,638.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,725.80. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.92, for a total transaction of $145,752.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,778.72. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during 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 during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.