Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GOOG. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $360.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

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.