Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 2.7% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Alphabet's stock increased by 2.7% during trading, closing at $260.51, with a trading volume 21% lower than the average.
• Analyst ratings for Alphabet include a mix of strong buy, buy, and hold opinions, with an average price target of $249.68.
• In earnings, Alphabet reported $2.31 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue rising by 13.8% year-over-year.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $262.51 and last traded at $260.51. 18,349,287 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 23,363,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group set a $255.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.68.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.53.

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,629,725.80. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $592,760,192.85. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley lifted its position in Alphabet by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Fairman Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 121.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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