Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price rose 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $389.26 and last traded at $388.88. Approximately 26,308,872 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 31,513,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.97.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud announced a partnership with Swedish private equity firm EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing Google Cloud’s enterprise AI momentum. Reuters: Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, began opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select riders; the vehicle is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lower fleet-expansion costs, which could improve the long-term economics of the business. CNBC: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly reiterated a bullish view on Alphabet Class A shares, adding to the case that investors still see upside in the company’s core businesses and AI initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ad formats, including conversational discovery and highlighted answers, which could eventually boost monetization but is still in the early rollout phase. Yahoo Finance: GOOGL’s Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Alphabet’s stock valuation and technical setup, including commentary suggesting support near current levels and possible upside toward $400, but these are market opinions rather than new fundamentals. Finbold: Google stock is guaranteed to hit $400…
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Justice Department charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, which adds reputational noise and could keep scrutiny on Alphabet’s internal controls and compliance culture. Reuters: US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor commentary, including DuckDuckGo’s criticism of Google’s AI search overhaul and claims that some users are switching away, highlights ongoing competitive and antitrust pressure on Alphabet’s Search franchise. Yahoo Finance: ‘It’s Time To Fire Google,’ Urges Alphabet’s Search Engine Rival

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.65.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.