Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Alphabet was downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts set more optimistic price targets for Alphabet's stock, with Oppenheimer raising its target to $270.00 and Tigress Financial to $280.00.
• Alphabet reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and contributing to a recent 1.2% increase in stock value to $235.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on GOOGL. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.33.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

GOOGL stock traded up $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.00. The company had a trading volume of 46,562,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,713,716. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $235.76.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 17.9% during the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,371 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alphabet

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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