Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $396.38 and last traded at $395.4980. Approximately 22,086,121 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 21,113,697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.27.
More Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Big commercial win: AI startup Anthropic has committed roughly $200 billion to run on Google Cloud and buy Google chips over several years — a massive multi-year revenue/backlog boost if confirmed. Anthropic commits to spending $200 billion on Google's cloud and chips
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 fundamentals: Alphabet’s Q1 showed an EPS and revenue beat with very strong Google Cloud growth and a rapidly expanding AI-driven backlog — reinforcing investor expectations for durable AI monetization. Alphabet's $460B AI lock-in (Seeking Alpha)
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street upgrades and targets: Analysts are lifting forecasts and price targets (Mizuho, JPMorgan and others), citing underestimated Cloud profit potential — these upgrades support momentum and buy-side flows. Mizuho elevates Alphabet forecast (TipRanks)
- Positive Sentiment: High-profile buys and momentum: Institutional and notable asset managers (including reported Ark/ Cathie Wood purchases) and a strong YTD rally are reinforcing momentum traders and ETF inflows. Cathie Wood buys Alphabet (247wallst)
- Neutral Sentiment: Product & research updates: Google is advancing personal AI agents (codenamed Remy) and other AI product integrations, which are strategic positives but longer‑term revenue drivers. Big Tech personal AI agents (PYMNTS)
- Neutral Sentiment: Capital & infrastructure moves: Alphabet’s large euro bond offering and significant capex plan fund AI/data center buildout — demand for the debt was strong, but heavy capex keeps investors watching margins and cash flows. Alphabet taps euro bond market (Reuters)
- Neutral Sentiment: DeepMind research tie-ins: DeepMind’s minority stake in the studio behind EVE Online to train game-based AI is an R&D positive but unlikely to move near-term revenue materially. DeepMind to train models on EVE Online (CNET)
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal overhang: EU competition issues remain — Google has proposed changes to news search to try to avoid additional fines tied to a prior €9.5B penalty, but the dispute adds policy risk. Google seeks to avert EU fines (Reuters)
- Negative Sentiment: Some institutional trimming: Large funds (e.g., CalPERS, Deutsche Bank updates) reported reductions in GOOG positions in recent 13F updates, which can create selling pressure in the short term. CalPERS reduced GOOG (Quiver Quantitative)
- Negative Sentiment: Employee/ethical risks: DeepMind unionization efforts and protests over defense-related AI work (and classified DoD contracts) create reputational and operational risk that some investors watch closely. DeepMind union vote over military contracts (Business Insider)
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.73.
Read Our Latest Analysis on GOOG
Alphabet Stock Up 2.9%
The business has a 50-day moving average price of $313.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $309.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet
In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.
Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.
Further Reading
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