Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price hoisted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $385.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.48% from the stock’s previous close.

GOOGL has been the subject of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.22.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $309.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $328.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total value of $10,383,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,272,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $725,942,020.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $168,036.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,750.96. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,128 shares of company stock valued at $61,326,372. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,637,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 9.3% during the second quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 4.0% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 64,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooktree Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $352,000. 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.