Morgan Stanley Increases Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $210.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (down from $182.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.88.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GOOGL traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.99. 15,149,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,640,436. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $5,728,640.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.67, for a total transaction of $113,668.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,764.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.85, for a total value of $278,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,728,640.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,488 shares of company stock worth $21,866,705 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% in the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.5% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 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.