DA Davidson Cuts Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target to $350.00

Key Points

• DA Davidson cut Alphabet’s price target from $375 to $350 and kept a neutral rating, implying about 10.65% upside from the previous close.
• Despite the lower target, Alphabet recently posted strong Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and delivering 24.2% year-over-year revenue growth, with cloud and AI momentum highlighted as positives.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly constructive overall, with Alphabet’s average price target at $408.27 and many firms still carrying buy or strong buy ratings, even as some analysts trimmed their targets.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at DA Davidson from $375.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the information services provider's stock. DA Davidson's price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.65% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $408.27.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG traded down $25.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $316.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,257,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,381,564. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.49. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $6.23. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.06 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 20,553 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,262,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Ballast Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.5% during the second quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 15,191 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.4% during the second quarter. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.2% during the second quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,250 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet delivered a strong Q2 beat, with revenue, EPS, and cloud growth all topping expectations, reinforcing the strength of Search, YouTube, and Google Cloud. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud momentum and rising Gemini usage suggest Alphabet’s AI investments are beginning to show returns, which could support longer-term growth. Alphabet Beats on Cloud Revenue, Posts Strong Gemini Usage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms maintaining buy ratings and raising price targets after the earnings report. Tickerreport.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced new, cheaper Gemini model updates and work on efficiency-improving AI chips, which may help offset future infrastructure costs if execution improves. Google releases three new Gemini models — but no 3.5 Pro
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Alphabet’s AI capex spree is getting too large, especially after the company raised spending guidance and reported negative free cash flow. Alphabet's cash burn raises alarm for Big Tech as AI spending climbs
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faces added regulatory pressure after the EU hit Google with a roughly $1 billion antitrust fine over Search and Play Store practices. Google hit with $1 billion EU fine, first under landmark rules

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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