Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Target Lowered at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Alphabet’s price target from $447 to $375 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying roughly 34% upside from the reported $279.84 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $410.46, despite several firms recently reducing their targets.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter missed expectations, with $2.12 in adjusted earnings per share versus approximately $3.02 expected and revenue slightly below estimates; concerns include slower Search growth and heavy AI-related spending that pressured free cash flow.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $447.00 to $375.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 34.01% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $325.00 price target (down from $385.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $465.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.46.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded down $3.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $279.84. 65,347,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,142,939. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $340.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $340.43. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $270.70 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,022 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,169,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. MFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,524,000. Ackerman Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 33.1% in the third quarter. Ackerman Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,865 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.9% in the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its stake in Alphabet by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 193,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $66,487,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered exceptional growth. Revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while the unit’s backlog reached $561 billion. Analysts and bullish investors view this as evidence that Alphabet’s AI investments are generating meaningful demand. Alphabet's Cloud Business Just Doubled
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after lowering expectations. Wells Fargo cut its price target to $371 while retaining an overweight rating; RBC, Wedbush, KeyCorp and others also reduced targets but generally maintained positive ratings. Guggenheim and Needham reaffirmed buy ratings with $450 targets. Wells Fargo Alphabet price target
• Neutral Sentiment: The valuation has become more attractive after the selloff. Some coverage describes Alphabet as trading at its cheapest valuation in years, creating potential long-term upside if Search stabilizes and Cloud profitability offsets AI infrastructure costs. Alphabet valuation after selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet missed quarterly expectations. Earnings per share were $2.12 versus roughly $2.94–$3.02 expected, while revenue of $127.6 billion was slightly below consensus. An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment also reduced reported earnings by about $0.55 per share. Alphabet Q3 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Search and advertising growth raised concerns about AI cannibalization. Search revenue grew, but missed estimates for the second consecutive quarter. Investors worry that AI-generated answers and lower-monetizing “AI Mode” searches could weaken Alphabet’s most profitable business. Alphabet Search earnings concerns
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow. Alphabet reported approximately $9.1 billion of negative free cash flow as capital expenditures and data-center investment surged. Investors are demanding clearer evidence that the spending will translate into profits, particularly as the company maintains its aggressive AI buildout. AI spending and Alphabet cash flow

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.