Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Alphabet shares fell 2.2% on Wednesday, trading around $356.38 after hitting an intraday low of $355.20, as investors weighed the stock’s recent weakness against its large market cap and valuation.
• Despite the pullback, analysts remain broadly positive on Alphabet thanks to AI and cloud growth, with several firms reiterating buy ratings and lifting price targets; the consensus target is about $413.13.
• The company continues to face mixed fundamentals and risks: Gemini usage is growing and new small-business features were added, but Alphabet also faces legal overhang from the youth social media addiction case and concerns about heavy AI and Waymo spending.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) traded down 2.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $355.20 and last traded at $356.38. 31,729,626 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 31,985,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $364.26.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is getting a bullish long-term earnings outlook from analysts, with commentary pointing to strong AI and cloud growth into 2027. Veteran Analyst Firm Resets Alphabet Forecast for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini with new small-business features, highlighting ongoing monetization efforts for its AI products and a broader push to make Gemini more useful for commercial users. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive upbeat long-term growth coverage, with some analysts describing it as a top growth stock thanks to its AI, search, and cloud businesses. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini app reportedly doubled monthly users to 900 million, reinforcing the scale of its AI ecosystem and suggesting growing engagement. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street price-target chatter remains constructive, with some forecasts implying meaningful upside over the next couple of years. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Cloud said a fire at a third-party facility caused intermittent network disruptions for some customers in India, a reminder of operational risks, though the incident appears limited. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google and Meta a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, keeping legal overhang alive for Alphabet’s YouTube business. Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern also remains focused on Alphabet’s heavy AI spending, Waymo expansion costs, and search-business shifts, which may be pressuring valuation. Alphabet’s AI Spend, Waymo Expansion And Search Shifts Weigh On Valuation

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. China Renaissance increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

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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