Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.48% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $178.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.68.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.06. 33,864,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,124,723. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock's fifty day moving average is $172.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.15. The company has a market cap of $2.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 215,843 shares of company stock valued at $37,288,490 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.