Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 3.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 3.6% to $332.82 on Tuesday with about 26.7 million shares traded, roughly 19% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Positive catalysts include the Broadcom–Google TPU deal and an expanding partnership with Anthropic that bolster Alphabet's AI infrastructure and potential TPU monetization, while several analysts have raised price targets (consensus target ~ $367) and Citi put the stock on a 90‑day “Upside Catalyst Watch.”
• Key risks: reports show Meta could surpass Google in digital ad revenue by year‑end and Meta’s new AI/ad products intensify competition, and an ad‑fraud report on Google Discover poses reputational and potential regulatory/headwind risks.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) was up 3.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $333.29 and last traded at $332.82. Approximately 26,748,650 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 33,185,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $321.31.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi put Alphabet on a 90-day “Upside Catalyst Watch,” citing a cluster of product and event catalysts that could drive the stock into July — a near-term positive trigger for investor sentiment. Citi bullish on Google stock
• Positive Sentiment: UBS and market commentary highlight the Broadcom–Google long-term TPU deal as reducing a key execution risk for Google’s AI infrastructure strategy — supports AI revenue/TPU monetization thesis. Broadcom deal with Google signals stronger AI demand
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s expanding partnership with Alphabet (and Broadcom) around custom AI chips reinforces Alphabet’s positioning in AI infrastructure and potential TPU revenue streams beyond core ads. Did Anthropic, Alphabet, and Broadcom Just Say Check?
• Positive Sentiment: Notable investors are adding exposure — Stanley Druckenmiller substantially increased his Alphabet stake, a vote of confidence that can attract momentum buying. Druckenmiller increased Alphabet position
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is running workforce and ecosystem initiatives (AI training for manufacturing workers; partners showcasing Google Cloud integrations) that support long-term platform adoption but are not immediate revenue drivers. Google partners on AI training for manufacturing workers
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party ecosystem activity at Google Cloud Next (groundcover demo) and startup funding tied to Google alumni highlight platform health and enterprise traction — supportive but incremental. groundcover at Google Cloud Next
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed but tilted positive: several firms have buy/price-targets raised or reaffirmed, creating a supportive analyst backdrop even as some targets were trimmed modestly. Analyst activity and price targets
• Negative Sentiment: Reports (Emarketer/WSJ/Reuters) project Meta could surpass Google in digital ad revenue by year-end — a structural competitive risk for Google’s largest cash cow. Meta poised to surpass Google in ad revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentary warn Meta’s new AI (Muse Spark) and Zuckerberg-led ad product push are materially intensifying competition for advertising dollars — could pressure Google ad growth and multiples. Zuckerberg close to cracking Google's money machine
• Negative Sentiment: A security report from HUMAN flagged sophisticated ad-fraud and “pushpaganda” abuse via Google Discover — potential reputational, product trust and moderation/headwind risks that could draw regulatory or remediation costs. HUMAN identifies Pushpaganda ad fraud

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. President Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, China Renaissance upped their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.06.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $306.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock valued at $104,505,914 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $416,217,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 13.9% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,277,000 after acquiring an additional 7,180 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,000,000 after acquiring an additional 23,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 21.2% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,171,000 after acquiring an additional 8,746 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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