Melius Research Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Melius Research raised its price target for Alphabet (GOOGL) stock from $220.00 to $255.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.73% from its previous close.
• Numerous analysts have issued positive ratings for Alphabet, with a consensus target price of $233.44 and a general sentiment of "Moderate Buy."
• Alphabet recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and achieving a net margin of 31.12% over revenue of approximately $96.43 billion.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Melius Research from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Melius Research's price target suggests a potential upside of 2.73% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.44.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $248.21 on Thursday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $256.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,429,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 51,798 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,830 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in Alphabet by 2.8% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 68,610 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 64,761 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,015,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

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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