UBS Group Reiterates "Neutral" Rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• UBS Group has maintained a "neutral" rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), while other analysts have recently increased their price targets and given the company a "buy" rating.
• The stock is currently trading around $253.17 and has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, reflecting its strong position in the market.
• CEO Sundar Pichai recently sold 32,500 shares, valued at approximately $8.1 million, indicating insider trading activity amidst mixed investor sentiment.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by stock analysts at UBS Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on GOOGL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.12.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $253.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $234.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $257.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $8,108,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,149,304. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first 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 period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

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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