Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wedbush cut Alphabet’s price target from $445 to $387 but maintained an “outperform” rating, implying nearly 36% upside from the current price.
• Alphabet shares fell 12.4% to $284.57 after quarterly earnings of $2.12 per share missed the $3.02 consensus, while revenue also came in slightly below expectations.
• Despite the downgrade and earnings miss, analysts remain broadly bullish: Alphabet has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $416.12, supported by strong cloud and AI demand.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Wedbush from $445.00 to $387.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the information services provider's stock. Wedbush's price target points to a potential upside of 35.99% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group set a $332.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price target (up from $465.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Alphabet from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $416.12.

Alphabet Stock Down 12.4%

GOOGL traded down $40.32 on Thursday, hitting $284.57. The company had a trading volume of 53,837,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,528,494. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $341.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.96 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet will post 20.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Elefante Mark B raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,897 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,883 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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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