Pivotal Research Raises Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target to $300.00

Key Points

• Pivotal Research raised its price target for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) from $245.00 to $300.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.93% from the previous close, and maintains a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Alphabet reported earnings per share of $2.31 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.12, alongside a revenue of $96.43 billion compared to estimates of $93.67 billion.
• Five analysts rated Alphabet's stock as Strong Buy, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.56 according to MarketBeat data.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Pivotal Research from $245.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Pivotal Research's target price indicates a potential upside of 30.93% from the company's previous close.

GOOG has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp set a $265.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $17.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $229.14. The company had a trading volume of 51,673,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,853,182. 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 has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $193.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 222,210 shares of company stock valued at $41,742,155. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley increased its holdings in Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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