Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 2.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Alphabet shares rose 2.7% in midday trading, reaching as high as $372.99, as investors reacted positively to recent headlines around the company. Trading volume was below average, suggesting the move came on relatively lighter participation.
• News flow has been largely favorable, with Alphabet being highlighted as an AI winner and seeing support from major investor Berkshire Hathaway, which reportedly increased its stake. Its newer businesses, including Wing drone delivery and Waymo, also drew attention as additional growth drivers.
• Despite some concerns about heavy AI spending and possible dilution, analysts remain constructive: recent target hikes left Alphabet with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a target price of about $413.13. The company also beat quarterly earnings expectations and recently raised its dividend to $0.22 per share.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $372.99 and last traded at $369.35. 27,457,727 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 31,917,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.68.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Alphabet as a key AI winner, including strong interest in Gemini, cloud growth, and broader enterprise adoption of its AI tools. 3 AI Stocks Poised for Long-Term Gains Despite Strong Year-to-Date Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s Greg Abel reportedly tripled Berkshire’s Alphabet stake last quarter and increased it further, reinforcing confidence from a major long-term investor. Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel Just Made a Big Bet on Who Will Win the AI Races -- And He's Even Tipping the Scale in Its Favor
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s overlooked businesses got fresh attention after Wing expanded drone delivery with Walmart and Waymo launched a monthly membership program, suggesting additional growth avenues beyond search and ads. Alphabet's Most Overlooked Division Just Had a Big Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said a Chinese-linked hacking group targeted U.S. and Canadian research facilities for over a year, a reminder of cybersecurity risks, but the story centers more on Google’s threat-detection capabilities than a direct financial hit. Chinese-linked hackers targeted U.S.,Canadian research facilities for a year, Google says
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Alphabet as a beneficiary of rising AI infrastructure spending and broader tech strength, which supports sentiment but does not add new company-specific news. What to Expect From Q2 Earnings as Tech Strength Broadens (GOOGL)
• Negative Sentiment: One article raised concern that Alphabet is heavily spending to compete in the AI race and may be issuing stock to help fund that effort, which could pressure margins or dilute shareholders if costs stay elevated. Alphabet is Raising $84.75 Billion to Win the AI Wars. Should Investors Celebrate or Worry?

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 price target (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $360.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 191,966 shares of company stock worth $16,963,968 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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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