Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price shot up 3.2% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $294.40 and last traded at $287.30. 31,488,229 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 20,751,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.27.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet shares participated in a broad rally following the U.S. midterm elections, providing a near-term boost after the recent selloff. Alphabet Stock Jumps as Midterm Election Rally Lifts Google Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI and cloud businesses continue to show growth potential: the company cited strong AI-driven cloud demand and expanding TPU sales, while Anthropic’s large commitments support demand for Google infrastructure. Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Growth and Spending Pressures
• Neutral Sentiment: Google plans to invest $15 billion in Malaysia over 2027–2028 to expand data-center and AI capacity. The buildout could capture regional demand, but adds to already substantial infrastructure spending. Google to Invest $15 Billion in Malaysia
• Negative Sentiment: Google is facing criticism after telling schools that restricting certain AI features could also mean losing access to Search. Political backlash and the attention of alternative search providers raise reputational and potential regulatory concerns. Google Faces Backlash Over Search Access for Schools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about elevated AI infrastructure costs and cash flow. Recent results included an earnings miss, while the earnings-call coverage highlighted rising costs; a shareholder securities lawsuit also alleges misleading disclosures about Gemini development. Alphabet’s Free Cash Flow Is Declining Faster Than Analysts Expected

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price (down from $450.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.38.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.89). Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The company had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Alphabet by 19.0% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 819,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $279,363,000 after purchasing an additional 130,978 shares during the period. Texas Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,501 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,667,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 540.6% in the third quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 200,105 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,184,000 after purchasing an additional 168,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 18,878 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,432,000 after acquiring an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent organization of Google. Founded in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, online services, communications, artificial intelligence, and other emerging areas.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, digital advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Workspace. The company also provides cloud computing, data storage, cybersecurity, productivity, and artificial intelligence services through Google Cloud.