Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 2.2% on Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price traded down 2.2% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $329.37 and last traded at $333.34. 33,419,653 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 54% from the average session volume of 21,672,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.70.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total value of $314,001.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,337,229.80. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,380. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, January 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on revenue and EPS with accelerating Search and Cloud growth — Search ~17% YoY, Cloud growth near 48% and a doubled Cloud backlog point to durable demand and stronger monetization. Alphabet: Full Valuation, Full Speed
• Positive Sentiment: Large enterprise/cloud wins and Gemini deployments (e.g., Liberty Global, Humana) validate Google Cloud monetization and AI product traction. Liberty Global-Google Cloud deal
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo’s big $16B funding round and $126B valuation increase Alphabet’s optionality outside ads and support longer-term upside. Waymo funding
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades, higher price targets and continued institutional buying reflect confidence in AI/Search/Cloud upside. Analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Management declined to discuss specific AI partnerships (e.g., Google-Apple Siri deal) on the earnings call, leaving partnership details uncertain for investors. TechCrunch: Google-Apple AI deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and pre/post-earnings positioning implied a sizable move; next direction likely depends on how investors weigh capex vs. revenue/margin trends. Earnings preview/prediction markets
• Negative Sentiment: The $175–$185B 2026 capex guide was the primary negative catalyst — far above Street expectations and seen as a near-term earnings/cash-flow risk that sparked selling pressure. Reuters: capex guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also noted a slight YouTube ad revenue softness and the scale of AI spending, which together raised near-term execution and margin questions. Invezz: post-earnings dip
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and some institutional selling (CAO SEC filing noted) adds to short-term sentiment pressure around a high valuation. SEC insider filing

Alphabet Trading Down 2.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $322.04 and its 200 day moving average is $269.49. The company has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

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.