Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $355.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $341.20 and last traded at $336.43, with a volume of 24551323 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $332.73.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $318.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $184,914.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,872.04. This trade represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,087 shares of company stock valued at $58,525,556. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple chose Google’s Gemini to power next‑generation Siri, creating a multi‑year licensing relationship that provides Google a large, high‑margin cloud customer and distribution into ~2bn Apple devices—an immediate revenue and strategic moat boost. Google and Apple enter into multi-year AI deal for Gemini models
• Positive Sentiment: Market optimism around AI and stronger cloud execution pushed Alphabet into the $4 trillion valuation club, reinforcing investor confidence that Gemini and Google Cloud can materially reshape growth and margins. Alphabet hits $4 trillion valuation as AI refocus lifts sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and sell‑side shops are raising targets and reiterating the bull case (TD Cowen raised its target to $355 and Jefferies highlighted the company’s data moat and cloud upside), supporting near‑term buy interest. TD Cowen raises price target Jefferies: data moat & cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning and option flows show some traders view GOOG as still relatively undervalued to analyst targets; short‑dated put selling has been productive, which can moderate volatility but also signals crowded bullish positioning. Put yields and undervaluation note
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet plans to develop and manufacture high‑end smartphones in Vietnam this year—a strategic supply‑chain/production move that diversifies hardware execution but is not an immediate earnings driver. Google to develop, manufacture phones in Vietnam
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and analysts warn valuation is stretched after a strong 2025 rally; several notes have shifted from “strong buy” to “buy” citing compressed upside and that much of the AI upside may already be priced in. Seeking Alpha: downgrade to Buy on valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Some funds trimmed GOOGL holdings in recent filings (reported reductions by a few managers), which could add selling pressure if larger managers follow suit; public criticism from industry figures (e.g., Elon Musk) adds headline noise but is unlikely to change fundamentals. Fund filing: Davenport trims GOOGL Musk criticizes Apple‑Google deal

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley boosted its position in Alphabet by 60.0% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 121.3% in the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $31,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $309.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.