Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. China Renaissance lifted their price target on Alphabet from $207.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Alphabet from $265.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.98.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $281.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. The business 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.

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total transaction of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.92, for a total value of $145,752.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 worth $55,805,379 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% 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.