Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 0.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $180.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $156.41 and last traded at $156.31. 4,959,656 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 29,900,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.47.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GOOGL. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Alphabet from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.