Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) increased by 1.3% to close at $257.02 on Monday, with a significant decline in trading volume of 42% compared to the average daily volume.
• Alphabet's most recent earnings report showed $2.31 EPS, surpassing estimates, and a year-over-year revenue growth of 13.8%, reaching $96.43 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Alphabet, with a consensus on a Moderate Buy and price targets ranging from $246.26 to $310.00.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) rose 1.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $257.88 and last traded at $257.02. Approximately 13,694,001 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 23,433,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer set a $300.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $265.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.26.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $232.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.25. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,149,304. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 400.0% during the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley grew its stake in Alphabet by 60.0% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 121.3% during the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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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