Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Given Outperform Rating at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Analysts at Oppenheimer have reissued an "outperform" rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) with a new price target of $270.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.65% from its current price.
• Alphabet's stock has recently surged 8.3%, trading at $229.50, with a market cap of $2.78 trillion and a P/E ratio of 24.44.
• The company reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $270.00 price target on the information services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $235.00. Oppenheimer's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.65% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 8.3%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $17.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $229.50. 29,530,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,699,957. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $231.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 222,210 shares of company stock worth $41,742,155. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 58.7% during the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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