JMP Securities Reiterates "Market Outperform" Rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• JMP Securities has reiterated its "Market Outperform" rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) with a target price of $290.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.79% from the previous close.
• Recent research reports show varied opinions on Alphabet's stock, with Jefferies raising its target to $285.00 and Oppenheimer to $300.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating from "buy" to "hold."
• Insider selling was noted, including CEO Sundar Pichai, who sold 32,500 shares valued at over $8 million, indicating a 1.34% decrease in his ownership stake.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at JMP Securities in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $290.00 target price on the information services provider's stock. JMP Securities' price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.79% from the company's previous close.

GOOGL has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Alphabet from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $294.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.60.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $250.46 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $233.60 and its 200-day moving average is $193.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $257.33.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total transaction of $8,108,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,397,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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