Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given New $387.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target on Alphabet to $387 from $395 but kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 21.8% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is split: the Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $366.76, yet individual targets range widely (about $360 to $420), reflecting disagreement on AI-driven growth versus near‑term valuation risks.
• Alphabet beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.57; revenue $113.83B vs. $111.24B) and has AI/Waymo catalysts, but insider selling and competitive pressure from Meta are notable risks.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $395.00 to $387.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target suggests a potential upside of 21.81% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $366.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $317.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $146.10 and a 52-week high of $349.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $306.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.04. The company has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,069,344 shares of company stock valued at $104,708,426 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic partnership and growing TPU demand strengthen Alphabet's position as an AI-infrastructure winner; analysts argue this makes GOOGL a core AI-infra play and a buying opportunity. Catalyst Alert: Anthropic Deal Makes Alphabet Stock a Must-Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst price-target raise to $420 signals bullish conviction on growth/AI upside, providing near-term upside support. Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL Price Target Raised to $420.00
• Positive Sentiment: Google Search remains an enormous, steady cash generator (≈$615M/day in 2025), underpinning margins and funding AI investments. Google Search Generates $615 Million Every. Single. Day.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanded robotaxi service to Nashville — a tangible commercialization step for autonomous‑driving revenue upside and investor sentiment. Alphabet (GOOGL) Is Up 7.3% After Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service To Nashville - What's Changed
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed a Buy and other bullish commentary highlights confidence in Alphabet's AI positioning (Gemini + hardware). Is Alphabet (GOOGL) One of the Best Long Term Growth Stocks to Invest In According to Billionaires?
• Neutral Sentiment: Google may shift its quantum roadmap from superconducting qubits to neutral‑atom technology — a meaningful technical pivot but one with long time horizons and unclear near-term revenue impact. Quantum Computing Stocks: Is Google's Tech Roadmap Changing?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage divergence: some firms raise targets while others cut them — markets see conviction in the AI story but disagree on near-term multiples and capital intensity. Analysts Love Alphabet Stock — They Just Can't Agree On a Direction
• Negative Sentiment: WSJ reports Meta is on track to unseat Google as the largest digital‑ad player as it rolls out new ad products and AI — a competitive threat to Alphabet's core ad growth. Meta Expected to Unseat Google as World's Largest Digital-Ad Player
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research cut its price target to $360, reflecting concerns about valuation or near‑term execution that could pressure shares. Wolfe Research Cuts Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL Price Target to $360.00

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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