Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 2.2% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock experienced a decline of 2.2% after significant insider selling, with executives including CAO Amie Thuener O'toole and CEO Sundar Pichai selling a combined total of over $8.8 million in shares.
• Brokerage firms maintain a generally optimistic outlook on Alphabet, with multiple analysts reaffirming "buy" ratings and setting price targets ranging from $246.26 to $310.00.
• The company's recent earnings report indicated a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 13.8%, with earnings per share surpassing estimates at $2.31.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $244.67 and last traded at $251.34. Approximately 27,369,887 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 23,454,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.02.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $694,638.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,629,725.80. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares in the company, valued at $592,760,192.85. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.92, for a total transaction of $145,752.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,242,778.72. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOG. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.26.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.29 and a 200 day moving average of $194.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 121.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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