Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Short Interest Update

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 44,038,271 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the March 15th total of 34,727,040 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,644,491 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock valued at $104,505,914. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is in advanced talks with the Pentagon to let its Gemini models run in classified environments — a potential large, strategic government contract that expands Gemini’s enterprise footprint and validates Google Cloud’s defense credentials. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet deepened enterprise reach via a partnership with private equity firm Thoma Bravo to push Gemini into a large software portfolio — accelerates go‑to‑market for cloud AI and could boost Google Cloud revenue over time. Alphabet (GOOGL) Teams Up with Thoma Bravo to Bring AI to $300 Billion Software Portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/partner wins: Google and Cadence announced collaboration to scale AI chip design with Gemini on Google Cloud — strengthens cloud ecosystem and positions Google for more platform engagements with semiconductor and enterprise customers. Cadence and Google Collaborate to Scale AI-Driven Chip Design with ChipStack AI Super Agent on Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google launched a Gemini app for macOS and rolled out new AI “skills” in Chrome — moves that support user engagement and cross‑platform adoption of Gemini features (positive for long‑term ad/Cloud monetization). Google (GOOGL) Launches Gemini App for Mac with New AI Features
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness and higher price targets (notably Citi and others raising targets) are supporting sentiment and options activity, underpinning upside expectations into upcoming events and earnings. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for the next twelve months
• Neutral Sentiment: Alaska filing disclosure revives attention on Alphabet’s stake in SpaceX — a potential one‑time asset value if SpaceX IPOs, but timing and realization remain uncertain for investors. Alphabet’s $122 Billion SpaceX Bombshell Just Surfaced In A Routine Alaska Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: TechCrunch reports Google blocked a record 8.3B ads in 2025 but suspended far fewer advertiser accounts — signals stronger automated enforcement but raises questions about platform policing; could affect advertiser trust over time. Google is now targeting bad ads over bad actors
• Negative Sentiment: The EU told Google it should allow third‑party search engines access to Google search data under the Digital Markets Act — a regulatory action that could weaken search monetization advantages in Europe and increase compliance costs. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Large legal exposure persists: reports highlight a $218B mass arbitration claim tied to ad tech/search rulings and a new Aptoide antitrust suit challenging Android app distribution — potential multi‑year litigation and settlements could pressure margins or result in restrictions. Alphabet Faces $218 Billion Mass Arbitration Claims Over Ad Tech And Search Rulings
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: OpenAI’s push into digital ads signals a potential new competitor for ad dollars and attention, which could pressure long‑term ad growth assumptions if execution succeeds. OpenAI Pushes Into Digital Ads, Setting Up New Competition with Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $346.03.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $334.31. 6,143,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,236,600. 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 market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $305.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.61. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $148.40 and a 1-year high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.