Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Alphabet's shares reached a new 52-week high during trading after Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $222 to $292, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for Alphabet, with BMO Capital Markets setting a target of $294 and Citigroup raising theirs to $280.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares at an average price of $249.50, resulting in a significant decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $222.00 to $292.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $259.66 and last traded at $260.80, with a volume of 5215532 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $253.08.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $294.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 246,150 shares of company stock valued at $55,805,379. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $235.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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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