Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Freedom Capital

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from “hold” to “strong-buy,” while several other firms also raised targets or reiterated bullish ratings. Overall, Alphabet now has a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of about $419.86.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results beat expectations by a wide margin, with EPS of $9.11 versus the $2.89 estimate and revenue of $119.8 billion versus $117.07 billion expected. The company also posted strong profitability, with a 54.77% net margin and 51.32% return on equity.
• The stock remains in focus amid mixed signals: bullish catalysts include strong Google Cloud growth and AI-related demand, but investors are also watching higher capex guidance, a negative free cash flow signal, and fresh EU regulatory pressure.

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

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $419.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $319.74 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $362.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.74. Alphabet has a one year low of $187.82 and a one year high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its stake in Alphabet by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,557,000 after buying an additional 48,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q2 results showed strong underlying demand, including an 82% surge in Google Cloud revenue and continued growth in Search and YouTube, reinforcing that its core businesses are still expanding. Google Cloud CEO Kurian says customers are spending 50% more as segment blows away expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Barclays argued that a TPU-as-a-service offering could materially lift Alphabet’s long-term profitability, suggesting the market may be underestimating future AI monetization. TPU-As-A-Service could boost Google’s 2028 profit by over 15%: Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a more than $1 billion dark-fiber deal to support Google’s data centers, underscoring ongoing infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s AI and cloud expansion. Verizon signs deal with Google worth over $1 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet was included in a momentum screen highlighting stocks with strong earnings and favorable price trends, which is supportive but not a major stock-specific catalyst. 3 High-Momentum Stocks to Buy Now Before They Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this does not appear to be a major driver of the move.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried that Alphabet’s AI spending is becoming too large, with the company increasing 2026 capex guidance and reporting negative free cash flow for the first time in years. Alphabet earnings takeaways: Q2 revenue beats, GOOGL stock sinks on 2026 capex hike
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced fresh regulatory pressure after the European Commission fined Google about $1 billion under the Digital Markets Act. Google hit with $1 billion EU fine, first under landmark rules
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo reportedly may try to end its partnership with Uber, which could create uncertainty around one of Alphabet’s autonomous-driving distribution channels. Waymo reportedly mulling a breakup with Uber

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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