Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given New $361.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $397.00 to $361.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.54% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.33.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $2.78 on Thursday, hitting $294.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,155,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,976,148. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $349.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $310.63 and a 200-day moving average of $295.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Alphabet to $397, citing growing opportunities to monetize Google Cloud — a catalyst for upside if Cloud revenue and margin expansion continue. Wells Fargo raises PT on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy on Alphabet with a $400 price target — another vote of confidence from the sell‑side that supports investor optimism. Needham Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Veo 3.1 Lite, a lower‑cost AI video model aimed at broader developer adoption — a product move that can expand AI-related revenue and developer usage at scale. Google unveils cheaper AI video model
• Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish analyst notes and upgrades (including coverage noting buying opportunities after the market pullback) have helped lift sentiment toward GOOGL among institutional investors. Bullish analyst upgrades amid exec sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary (calls that tech valuations look attractive and that mega‑caps are a defensive growth play) is supporting flows into Alphabet, but these are market‑wide dynamics rather than GOOGL‑specific catalysts. Tech valuations look attractive
• Negative Sentiment: Semianalysis CEO Dylan Patel warned that Alphabet’s free cash flow could fall to “basically zero” next year because of heavy AI capex — a high‑impact concern if sustained spending materially erodes free cash flow and capital returns. Semianalysis CEO: FCF hit zero next year
• Negative Sentiment: EU hospitality groups have urged regulators to review how Google applies the DMA’s Article 6(5), raising the risk of regulatory intervention around search rankings and potential remedies that could affect ad/search economics in Europe. EU groups raise concerns over search rankings
• Negative Sentiment: Over 200 child‑development experts urged Google to block AI‑generated videos targeting children on YouTube/YouTube Kids — a reputational and regulatory headache that could force content‑moderation changes and increase moderation costs. Experts urge ban on AI videos for children
• Negative Sentiment: Billionaire Ray Dalio reportedly trimmed his Alphabet position — a high‑profile sale that can signal caution to some investors even if it doesn’t change the company’s fundamentals. Ray Dalio reduces position

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.