3,538 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Wedbush Securities increased its Alphabet stake by 2%, purchasing 3,538 shares to reach 177,524 shares valued at approximately $61.1 million. Institutional investors own about 40% of Alphabet’s outstanding stock.
• Alphabet reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share and revenue of $127.6 billion, both below analyst expectations. Heavy AI infrastructure spending, weaker-than-expected Search monetization, a SpaceX investment loss and an EU antitrust fine added pressure to results.
• Despite the earnings miss and recent target-price reductions, Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $410.46 price target. Google Cloud growth and rising enterprise AI demand are key positives, while ongoing capital spending and legal risks remain concerns.

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,524 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $61,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,909,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elefante Mark B now owns 43,733 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,629,000 after buying an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 49,128 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,127,000 after buying an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 287.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $279.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $339.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.79. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $270.70 and a 1 year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet 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 transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while its backlog reached $561 billion. The results support Alphabet’s position as a major beneficiary of enterprise AI demand. Alphabet's Cloud Business Just Doubled
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after the selloff. Guggenheim and Needham reaffirmed “buy” ratings with $450 targets, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo retained bullish ratings and projected substantial upside despite lowering their targets.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI ecosystem could gain from rising demand for cloud capacity and specialized chips. Waymo is also expanding internationally through a partnership with Toyota, although the business remains small relative to Alphabet’s core operations. Waymo taps Toyota to supply robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple securities law firms publicized class-action lawsuits and lead-plaintiff deadlines tied to alleged disclosures about Alphabet’s Gemini AI development. These notices add headline risk, but their direct financial impact remains uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, below consensus near $2.94-$3.02, while revenue of $127.6 billion also missed expectations. Search and other revenue grew about 12% to roughly $63 billion, but fell short of forecasts, reinforcing fears that AI-generated answers and “AI mode” searches may monetize less effectively than traditional Search.
• Negative Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending caused free cash flow to remain negative by roughly $9.1 billion for a second consecutive quarter. Investors are questioning whether the enormous capital outlays will produce adequate returns and whether Alphabet may need additional debt or equity financing.
• Negative Sentiment: An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment reduced quarterly earnings by approximately $0.55 per share, while an EU antitrust fine further pressured results. Analysts including RBC, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Wedbush, KeyCorp and Cantor Fitzgerald lowered price targets, even though most maintained positive ratings.

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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