Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Rating Lowered by BNP Paribas

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at BNP Paribas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wedbush set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.95.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $178.53 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.45 and a 200-day moving average of $174.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.68, for a total transaction of $5,742,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,555,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,452,029.28. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 216,195 shares of company stock valued at $35,764,898 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, NBZ Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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