Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Arete Research Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price upped by Arete Research from $380.00 to $405.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Arete Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 31.07% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on GOOGL. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Argus boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (up previously from $346.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.64.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $309.00 on Wednesday. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $349.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $321.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.62. The company has a market cap of $3.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,884.14. This represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,067,086 shares of company stock worth $105,184,255. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets — Arete and New Street recently raised price targets (to $405 and $380 respectively), underscoring continued buy-side conviction around Alphabet’s AI and cloud leadership. Arete Research Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud monetization and AI demand remain strong — recent coverage highlights robust Cloud revenue growth and improving profitability from AI workstreams, supporting longer‑term revenue trajectory. Google Cloud Is Turning AI Demand Into Profits
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo product rollout advances — Waymo began deploying sixth‑generation Ojai robotaxis, which the company says are lower‑cost and more weather‑capable, a tangible execution milestone for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit. Waymo Begins Deploying Next‑Gen Ojai Robotaxis
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support — Some major firms (e.g., JPMorgan) are reiterating buy views, which can help stabilize sentiment after short‑term weakness. JPMorgan Chase Reiterates Buy Rating for Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Century bond drew strong demand — Alphabet’s rare 100‑year bond saw heavy uptake (pension buyers), providing low‑cost financing for AI capex but raising debate about long‑dated debt risks. Investors view this as both a funding positive and a longer‑term leverage concern. Why Alphabet’s 100‑Year Bond Is Raising New Fears
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust probe into search ad auctions — Regulators in Europe have opened inquiries into Google’s sale of search ads, a regulatory risk that could pressure ad economics or require product changes if enforcement follows. Google Targeted by EU Over Search Ad Auction Practices
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy 2026 capex plan fuels profit‑and‑monetization fears — Coverage highlights a $175B–$185B capex plan for AI infrastructure; that large spend profile is creating near‑term free‑cash‑flow and margin anxiety, which has been cited as a reason for recent share weakness. Alphabet Drops 7% Post Q4 Earnings

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.