Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given New $310.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has raised its price target for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) from $240.00 to $310.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.21% from the stock's previous close, while maintaining a "sector outperform" rating.
• The stock is currently rated as a Moderate Buy by analysts, with a consensus target price of $244.68, reflecting a mix of strong buy, buy, hold, and sell ratings from various research firms.
• In recent trading, Alphabet shares increased by $4.04 to reach $255.75, with a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion and a reported quarterly revenue of $96.43 billion.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $240.00 to $310.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector outperform" rating on the information services provider's stock. Scotiabank's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.21% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.68.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $4.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $255.75. 5,404,578 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,435,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $257.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $230.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 103 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.13, for a total transaction of $25,042.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,258.92. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 244,438 shares of company stock valued at $53,216,085. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.0% in the third quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 7,208 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the third quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 11,881 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 8,800 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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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