Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Truist Financial lowered Alphabet’s price target from $420 to $410 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying 43.68% upside from the previous close. Analysts overall remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and $417.68 target.
• Alphabet shares fell 12.2% to $285.36, near the lower end of their 52-week range, after quarterly EPS of $2.12 missed the $3.02 consensus and revenue slightly missed estimates.
• Investors remain focused on rising AI and data-center spending, which has pressured free cash flow, even as Google Cloud and potential TPU demand offer longer-term growth opportunities.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $420.00 to $410.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Truist Financial's target price indicates a potential upside of 43.68% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $417.00 price target (up from $411.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $515.00 to $450.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler set a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price objective (up from $465.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $417.68.

Alphabet Trading Down 12.2%

Alphabet stock traded down $39.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $285.36. 47,931,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,481,199. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $270.70 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. The business had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 20.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Elefante Mark B increased its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Elefante Mark B now owns 43,733 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 49,128 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,127,000 after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 287.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

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.

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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