Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $280.00 at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target for Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.59% based on the company's current stock price.
• Alphabet's stock price increased by 3.3%, trading at $248.69, with a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49.
• Many analysts have a positive outlook on Alphabet, with a total of 32 issuing a "Buy" rating, contributing to an average target price estimate of $222.85.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $225.00 to $280.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential upside of 12.59% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GOOGL. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $191.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.85.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $7.89 on Monday, hitting $248.69. 34,233,165 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,660,965. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $252.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $201.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,281,408.64. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Cypress Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% in 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 period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in 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 period. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.