NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Sells 230,884 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd. cut its Alphabet stake by 96.6% in the second quarter, selling 230,884 shares and retaining 8,020 shares valued at approximately $2.83 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, well above analyst estimates. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $415.55.
• Alphabet’s AI and Cloud expansion remain key growth drivers, while investors are weighing heavy AI-related capital spending, regulatory restrictions and insider selling. A federal judge declined to order a breakup of Google’s ad-tech business, reducing the most severe regulatory risk.

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,020 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 230,884 shares during the period. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $130,704,718,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI expansion remains the main bullish catalyst. WeatherNext 3 is being integrated into Search, Maps and Gemini, while new voice-driven Gemini features are rolling out in Gmail, Docs and Keep, creating potential for broader user engagement and monetization. Alphabet Just Gave Search, Maps and Gemini a New AI Advantage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is building around Google Cloud, AI services, hardware and long-term earnings growth. Wolfe Research named Alphabet a top pick for 2027, while other coverage highlights strong recent Cloud growth and a median price target well above current trading levels. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Strong Cloud Growth Prospects
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge declined to force a breakup of Google’s ad-technology business, reducing the most severe regulatory risk, although operational restrictions remain. The decision also supports Alphabet’s ability to retain its existing ad-tech infrastructure. Google Spared From Ad-Business Breakup
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s clean-energy partnerships, including Google-backed battery storage and geothermal projects, strengthen power availability for data centers but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Google’s New Energy Project Gives Eos Energy a Key Technology Validation
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Alphabet’s roughly $44.9 billion quarterly capital expenditure pushed free cash flow negative for the first time since its IPO. The spending may support future AI and Cloud returns, but it increases execution risk and weighs on near-term valuation. 3 Stocks Built for Higher Rates
• Negative Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected employment data lifted Treasury yields and reduced expectations for near-term rate cuts, pressuring large technology stocks. Alphabet also faces investor concern over delayed Gemini releases, ongoing ad-tech remedies, and shareholder securities-fraud investigations. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Alphabet

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $335.31 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $346.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.71. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.38 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.Alphabet's revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.55.

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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