Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price was down 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $341.72 and last traded at $349.68. 51,478,291 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 61% from the average daily volume of 32,071,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $368.03.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet announced a roughly $75 million AI research partnership with film studio A24, signaling efforts to expand practical AI applications beyond search and cloud into media and creative workflows. Reuters: Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts continue to see monetization potential in Alphabet’s AI spending, suggesting the company could eventually convert its heavy investment into stronger growth and profits. MSN: Morgan Stanley sees monetization potential in Google AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains mixed, with some investors still viewing Alphabet as one of the stronger long-term AI names in the Magnificent 7 despite near-term volatility. Motley Fool: Is Alphabet the Best Magnificent Seven AI Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after reports that two prominent AI researchers left Google DeepMind for competitors, fueling concern that Alphabet is losing key talent in the AI race. CNBC: Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo recalled 3,871 robotaxis after a software glitch sent vehicles into closed construction zones, adding fresh execution risk to Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business. 247WallSt: Waymo Just Recalled 3,800 Robotaxis
• Negative Sentiment: Investor anxiety is also being driven by Alphabet’s aggressive AI capex, with some market coverage arguing that spending is rising faster than the payoff is visible. 247WallSt: Alphabet Sinks 6%, Amazon Slides 4% Amid AI Capex Anxiety

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. CICC Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities raised their price objective on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. China Renaissance lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 17.6% in the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,557,000 after acquiring an additional 48,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.9% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 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.