Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Cut to Market Perform at Citizens Jmp

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) was downgraded by analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “mkt outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Alphabet from $415.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. China Renaissance reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $485.00 to $445.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler set a $405.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $485.00 target price (up from $475.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.73.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $321.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.76. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $268.43 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). The company had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 20.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth was a major bright spot: Revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, supported by enterprise AI demand and improving margins. Analysts argue the strength could support Alphabet’s long-term growth despite near-term concerns. Alphabet Q3: The Selloff Makes Sense, So Does The Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI chip opportunity is expanding: OpenAI reportedly plans to purchase Google’s tensor processing units, while Oracle is making the chips available through its cloud platform. The developments could create a new revenue stream and reduce reliance on Nvidia’s infrastructure. Google alters cloud playbook to sell more AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish: Pivotal Research reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $475 price target, citing cloud and AI strength. Technical commentary also described the stock as oversold, potentially encouraging dip buyers. Alphabet Buy rating reaffirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: New AI products offer longer-term upside but limited immediate financial impact: Alphabet launched Gemini 4 Carbon, expanded AI-powered Search ads internationally, and previewed crypto-custody security tools for financial institutions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal headlines added volatility: Several law firms publicized securities-fraud lawsuits and lead-plaintiff deadlines related to alleged disclosures about Gemini development. The announcements appear largely procedural but add reputational and litigation risk. Alphabet securities lawsuit announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings missed expectations: Alphabet reported EPS of $2.12 versus roughly $3.01 expected, while revenue of $127.58 billion was slightly below consensus. Profit was also down from the prior year, overshadowing 24.7% revenue growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Advertising momentum weakened: Search growth slowed and YouTube advertising revenue of $11.2 billion missed estimates. Investors are concerned that AI-based search and competing platforms could pressure Alphabet’s core advertising engine. Google shares fall as ad revenue misses estimates
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is straining cash flow: Capital expenditures reached approximately $51.4 billion and quarterly free cash flow turned negative at about $9.1 billion. The Other Bets division, including Waymo, also posted more than $2 billion in operating losses.

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.