Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given New $220.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Needham & Company LLC from $210.00 to $220.00 in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the information services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Alphabet from $171.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.32.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $192.17. 74,740,490 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,272,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Alphabet has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.23 and a 200 day moving average of $173.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 35.22%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.