Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Alphabet fell 29.2% in February to 31,878,342 shares (about 0.3% of shares) with a days-to-cover of 1.6.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares and Sundar Pichai sold 32,500, with insiders offloading a total of 2,112,493 shares (~$118.6M) in the last 90 days while owning roughly 13% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” with an average price target of $345.71; Alphabet also beat Q4 estimates (EPS $2.82 vs $2.59) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 31,878,342 shares, a drop of 29.2% from the February 12th total of 45,049,261 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,953,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,953,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock worth $118,605,094. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Tradewinds LLC. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,000 after acquiring an additional 43,080 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 31.3% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank of Texas bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $900,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning - and deadline - by UK regulator

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $301.46. The stock had a trading volume of 16,821,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,054,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $319.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.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 prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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