Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Downgraded by BNP Paribas to Hold

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GOOG. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.88.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $178.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total value of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,544.70. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 216,195 shares of company stock valued at $35,764,898 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 31,967 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,088,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after buying an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,455 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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