Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Target Raised at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised Alphabet’s price target to $400 from $395 and maintained an “Overweight” rating, implying 16.31% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Alphabet has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus target price of $425.60, supported by multiple recent target increases.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $9.11 versus the $2.89 consensus and revenue of $119.80 billion versus $117.07 billion expected; however, insider selling and ongoing regulatory pressure remain risks.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $395.00 to $400.00 in a report released on Monday. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the information services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.31% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on GOOGL. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $485.00 target price (up from $415.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.60.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $343.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $235.84 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $344.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 441,428 shares of company stock worth $8,688,139 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,403,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718,127 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,394,474 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,208,470,000 after purchasing an additional 208,362 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 38,106,033 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,927,189,000 after purchasing an additional 583,078 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,865,809,000 after buying an additional 1,457,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 29,166,806 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,129,210,000 after acquiring an additional 478,848 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment in Finland: Google reportedly plans to invest $15 billion in Finland, where the country’s security resilience and energy resources are being positioned as advantages for attracting AI infrastructure. The investment could support long-term cloud capacity and European AI growth. Google bets $15B on Finland
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud expands AI-security partnership: Thales and Google Cloud are integrating security, governance and visibility tools for agentic AI workflows using Gemini Enterprise. The agreement strengthens Google Cloud’s enterprise positioning as companies seek safeguards for autonomous AI systems. Thales collaboration with Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Piper Sandler raised its Alphabet price target to $400 from $395 while maintaining an Overweight rating, indicating continued confidence in Google’s earnings and AI-cloud prospects. Piper Sandler price target
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI and commerce opportunities: Google is challenging rivals in agentic AI and testing purchases through Gemini and AI Mode in India. These efforts could create new advertising, commerce and cloud revenue streams. Google tests Flipkart purchases through Gemini
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlights a potential $10 trillion AI infrastructure buildout, but the scale of required spending raises questions about which companies and customers will ultimately fund it. AI infrastructure spending outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: Alphabet’s stock recently faced pressure following a €403 million fine, reminding investors that regulatory actions remain a risk to Google’s profitability and valuation. Alphabet stock and €403 million fine
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet trades at a higher forward valuation than Oracle in some comparisons, potentially limiting near-term upside if Google Cloud growth or AI returns do not meet elevated expectations. Oracle versus Alphabet AI cloud comparison

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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