Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, forty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.0612.

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wedbush increased their target price on Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TurboQuant AI compression positions Alphabet to cut AI infrastructure costs and extend its AI leadership, which could boost margins and reduce dependence on memory suppliers. Alphabet Just Introduced Its Newest AI Advantage, and It’s Another Reason to Buy the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst outlooks are supportive: a published price target increase to $397 signals upside from the sell-side and may provide buying interest. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $397.00
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy rating, reinforcing institutional support and potentially limiting downside as some funds watch analyst guidance. Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street and independent finance experts remain broadly positive on end‑of‑2026 price prospects, supporting medium-term investor confidence. Finance experts predict Google stock price for end of 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Last week’s near‑9% drop is partly market-driven (broader index weakness/geo‑political risk); however, Alphabet remains the top-performing Magnificent Seven name over 12 months and is the only peer above its 200‑day SMA — a mixed technical picture to monitor. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Sundar Pichai’s routine, pre‑planned sale of shares resurfaced in headlines but aligns with his historical pattern and is unlikely to signal new negative insider activity. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile personnel moves (a former Google CMO left with a large equity package; Apple hired a Google shopping exec) are noteworthy for talent flow but are not immediate earnings drivers. Meet the ex-Google CMO who quit with a seven-figure package by 28 Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark social‑media addiction verdict found YouTube negligent, raising litigation risk and regulatory attention that could increase legal costs or policy constraints over time. Meta and Google lost a major social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Large portfolio moves by Ark Invest (sales of Alphabet shares) add selling pressure and can amplify downside during volatile sessions. Cathie Wood Going Cold On Big Tech? Ark Sells Nvidia, AMD, Meta And Google Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Poaching of senior product marketing talent by rivals (Apple) highlights competition for AI marketing expertise and could modestly pressure execution in consumer/ads initiatives. Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,092,336 shares of company stock valued at $112,519,943. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $273.50 on Tuesday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $311.94 and a 200 day moving average of $295.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

About Alphabet

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.