Alphabet Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Alphabet saw unusually high options activity: Investors acquired 520,481 call options, about 11% above the average volume of 469,774, signaling elevated trading interest in GOOGL.
• Institutional investors increased their positions while insiders sold approximately $12.0 million of stock over the past 90 days. Institutional ownership stands at 40.03%, compared with insider ownership of 11.61%.
• Analysts remain bullish on Alphabet: The stock rose 0.9% to $350.61, and analysts assigned an average “Buy” rating with a $422.16 price target, well above its current price.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 520,481 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 11% compared to the average volume of 469,774 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,394,474 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,208,470,000 after purchasing an additional 208,362 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 38,106,033 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,927,189,000 after acquiring an additional 583,078 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,865,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457,371 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 29,166,806 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,129,210,000 after acquiring an additional 478,848 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,724,321 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,334,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,721 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.9%

GOOGL traded up $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $350.61. 23,670,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,001,238. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $345.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $344.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $235.84 and a 1 year high of $408.61. 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:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $445.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $422.16.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit plans to launch autonomous, all-electric ride-hailing services in Singapore by 2028, marking its first Southeast Asian market. The expansion supports the view that Waymo could become a meaningful commercial business beyond Alphabet’s core search and advertising operations. Waymo to bring autonomous ride-hailing to Singapore in 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet, NVIDIA and Emerald AI launched an alliance focused on flexible AI data centers that can reduce electricity demand and potentially receive faster grid interconnection approvals. The initiative could help address a major constraint on Alphabet’s expanding AI infrastructure. NVIDIA, Google, Emerald AI launch AI data center power coalition
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators remain bullish on Alphabet’s resilient Search business, Gemini’s progress, Google Cloud growth and potential monetization across AI, YouTube and custom chips. Google Cloud’s large backlog is viewed as evidence of durable demand. Could GOOG stock rise by up to 40%?
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway successor Greg Abel reportedly views Alphabet’s AI ambitions favorably, adding credibility to the long-term investment case for the company’s AI strategy. Warren Buffett’s Successor Greg Abel Is Wagering Heavily on an AI-Driven Future

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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