Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Cut to $385.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Key Points

• KeyCorp lowered Alphabet’s price target from $410 to $385 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 18.5% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Alphabet has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $420.14, though several firms have recently reduced their targets.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter missed expectations, with earnings per share of $2.12 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $127.58 billion versus $127.96 billion forecast, amid concerns over weaker search growth and rising AI investment costs.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $410.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the information services provider's stock. KeyCorp's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.50% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Moffett Nathanson set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $420.14.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $324.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $341.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet has a one year low of $267.67 and a one year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 20.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,403,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,865,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,371 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,724,321 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,334,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,721 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 17,079,800 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,911,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 90.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,900,078,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112,680 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a $450 price target, implying substantial upside from current levels. Needham rating
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue reportedly more than doubled to approximately $31 billion, beating expectations and highlighting strong demand for Alphabet’s AI infrastructure and services. Google Cloud revenue report
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly planning to use Google’s custom TPU chips, while Alphabet is expanding TPU availability through Oracle Cloud. The developments could create a new AI-chip revenue stream and reduce reliance on Nvidia. Google TPU expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet retains a strong balance sheet and relatively modest leverage, supporting continued investment in AI despite near-term pressure on free cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rosenblatt and Cantor Fitzgerald kept positive ratings but reduced their price targets to $380 and $350, respectively—suggesting continued confidence while acknowledging higher execution and spending risks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s reported SpaceX investment produced a major mark-to-market loss that reduced quarterly earnings, but the accounting impact does not necessarily reflect deterioration in core operating performance. SpaceX investment impact
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings were $2.12 per share versus a $3.02 consensus estimate, while revenue of $127.58 billion also slightly missed expectations. Alphabet earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Search and other revenue grew 12% but fell short of forecasts for a second consecutive quarter. YouTube advertising revenue also missed estimates, increasing concern that AI search may be pressuring Alphabet’s highest-margin business.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy data-center and AI investment pushed free cash flow to a larger-than-expected deficit, reinforcing worries that spending is rising faster than monetization. Alphabet cash burn report
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms announced securities-fraud class-action deadlines tied to alleged disclosures about Gemini development, adding a legal overhang, although the lawsuits are not currently a core earnings driver.

About Alphabet

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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