Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Cut to $371.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Alphabet’s price target from $417 to $371 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 33.7% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain broadly positive but mixed: Alphabet has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $411.90, although several firms recently lowered targets or downgraded the stock.
• Alphabet shares fell 2.3% to $277.42 after the company missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.12 in EPS versus the $3.02 consensus estimate and revenue slightly below forecasts.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $417.00 to $371.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the information services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 33.73% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GOOGL. UBS Group set a $332.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $345.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Alphabet from $410.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $411.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.3%

GOOGL traded down $6.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $277.42. The company had a trading volume of 43,026,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,029,494. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $340.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 50.03%. The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 20.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% in the third quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.6% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,679,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Elefante Mark B raised its stake in Alphabet by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Elefante Mark B now owns 43,733 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 49,128 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,127,000 after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 287.4% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 2,883 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud remains a major growth engine. Revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while the unit’s backlog reached $561 billion. Analysts including Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim, Needham and Truist still view Alphabet as a long-term AI leader, although several reduced their price targets. Alphabet’s Cloud Business Just Doubled
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying operating growth was still substantial. Total revenue rose 25% year over year, search query growth reached its strongest pace in five years, and supporters argue the selloff may overlook Alphabet’s cloud profitability, advertising reach and ability to monetize AI over time. Alphabet Shares Plunge. Why Now Is a Great Time to Buy the Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided. Several firms lowered price targets but retained buy or outperform ratings, while others moved to neutral or hold. Options traders are reportedly viewing the elevated volatility and uncertain near-term outlook as suitable for range-bound strategies. How Mike Khouw Is Trading Alphabet
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings miss undermined confidence. Alphabet reported $2.12 in quarterly EPS versus consensus near $3.00 and revenue of $127.6 billion, slightly below expectations. Search and other revenue grew 12% but missed estimates for a second consecutive quarter, while YouTube advertising also fell short. Investors increasingly fear that AI-generated or AI-mode searches may be less profitable than traditional search. Alphabet Earnings Miss Reflects AI Pressure on Search
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow. Alphabet’s free cash flow was negative by roughly $9.1 billion, as capital expenditures and data-center investment outpaced operating cash generation. The market is demanding clearer evidence that massive AI infrastructure spending will produce attractive returns, particularly compared with Microsoft’s still-positive cash flow. Alphabet’s Free Cash Flow Sinks Further
• Negative Sentiment: One-time items worsened the headline results. An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment reduced quarterly EPS by approximately $0.55, while an EU antitrust fine added pressure. Multiple securities-fraud class-action notices following the selloff may further weigh on sentiment, although they do not immediately change the company’s operations. Is Alphabet Stock a Buy After Its Post-Earnings Drop?

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.

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