Short Interest in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Drops By 10.7%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 71,090,000 shares, a decline of 10.7% from the September 15th total of 79,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Pivotal Research upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Alphabet from $222.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $2.23 on Thursday, reaching $162.93. 20,918,384 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,027,340. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,342,143.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Hampshire Trust boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% in the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP grew its position in Alphabet by 58.4% during the first quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, SWP Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by 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.