Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 1.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Alphabet shares rose 1.1% in Tuesday trading, with the stock touching an intraday high of $376 and last changing hands at $373.25. Trading volume was below average, suggesting the move happened on lighter participation.
• Fundamental and product news remained constructive, as Google launched Android 17 and Wear OS 7 while expanding Gemini AI features, and Google Cloud landed a new strategic partnership with Ineffable Intelligence. These developments reinforce Alphabet’s position in AI and cloud computing.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Alphabet despite some mixed ratings, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $413.13. The company also recently beat quarterly earnings expectations and increased its dividend to $0.22 per share.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $376.00 and last traded at $373.25. Approximately 24,397,306 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 31,803,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.35.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google released Android 17 and Wear OS 7, adding new multitasking tools and fresh Pixel features, while also expanding Gemini capabilities with AI models like Lyria 3 and Gemini Omni. This reinforces Alphabet’s AI leadership and could support device and platform engagement. Android 17 launches with new multitasking tools as Google expands Gemini features
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud announced a strategic partnership with Ineffable Intelligence, which chose Google Cloud as its preferred infrastructure partner for a new frontier AI lab. Wins like this suggest continued strength in Alphabet’s cloud and AI business. Ineffable Intelligence Selects Google Cloud To Power Its Superintelligence Mission
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent reports remain constructive on Alphabet, with analysts and market commentators highlighting it as an attractive big-tech and AI beneficiary. That adds to sentiment that the stock still has upside potential. Alphabet: Still A Big Tech Pick To 'Buy' Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s lawsuit over AI-enabled scam websites and Reuters’ report on Chinese-linked hackers underscore ongoing cybersecurity risks, but they also show Alphabet actively policing abuse on its platforms. AI Scam Surge Prompts Google to File Lawsuit Chinese-linked hackers targeted U.S.,Canadian research facilities for a year, Google says
• Negative Sentiment: Howard Marks warned that investing in AI stocks is becoming “closer to speculating,” a reminder that the AI trade could be vulnerable if enthusiasm cools or valuations come under pressure. Howard Marks: Investing in AI Stocks Is ‘Closer to Speculating' Than Analysis

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target 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 assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $330.66. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 191,966 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,968 over the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.0% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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