Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) shares were up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $326.41 and last traded at $324.89. 49,593,556 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 64% from the average session volume of 30,301,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.58.
More Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while its backlog reached $561 billion. The results support Alphabet’s position as a major beneficiary of enterprise AI demand. Alphabet’s Cloud Business Just Doubled
- Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after the selloff. Guggenheim and Needham reaffirmed “buy” ratings with $450 targets, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo retained bullish ratings and projected substantial upside despite lowering their targets.
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI ecosystem could gain from rising demand for cloud capacity and specialized chips. Waymo is also expanding internationally through a partnership with Toyota, although the business remains small relative to Alphabet’s core operations. Waymo taps Toyota to supply robotaxis
- Neutral Sentiment: Multiple securities law firms publicized class-action lawsuits and lead-plaintiff deadlines tied to alleged disclosures about Alphabet’s Gemini AI development. These notices add headline risk, but their direct financial impact remains uncertain.
- Negative Sentiment: Alphabet reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, below consensus near $2.94-$3.02, while revenue of $127.6 billion also missed expectations. Search and other revenue grew about 12% to roughly $63 billion, but fell short of forecasts, reinforcing fears that AI-generated answers and “AI mode” searches may monetize less effectively than traditional Search.
- Negative Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending caused free cash flow to remain negative by roughly $9.1 billion for a second consecutive quarter. Investors are questioning whether the enormous capital outlays will produce adequate returns and whether Alphabet may need additional debt or equity financing.
- Negative Sentiment: An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment reduced quarterly earnings by approximately $0.55 per share, while an EU antitrust fine further pressured results. Analysts including RBC, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Wedbush, KeyCorp and Cantor Fitzgerald lowered price targets, even though most maintained positive ratings.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $485.00 price objective (up from $415.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $417.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.46.
View Our Latest Research Report on Alphabet
Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%
The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $35,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Premier Financial Group acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 38.5% in the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 180 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Company Profile
Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.
Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.
Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.
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