Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price traded up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $357.88 and last traded at $357.33. 11,201,584 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 21,462,652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $350.67.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentators remain constructive on Alphabet ahead of its July 22 earnings report, citing strong Google Cloud momentum, AI-driven ad strength, and improving growth expectations. Google Stock Earnings Preview: Can Google Cloud Power Alphabet’s Next Earnings Beat?
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was also highlighted as a strong digital advertising and cloud play, with one article arguing its AI-powered ad ecosystem and earnings outlook make it a better long-term buy. RDDT vs. GOOGL: Which Digital Advertising Stock Is a Better Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces pointed to continued investor optimism around Google Search, AI infrastructure, and custom TPU chips, reinforcing the view that Alphabet is well positioned in the AI cycle. Google (GOOGL) Wants a Bigger Piece of Nvidia’s AI Chip Market – Here’s Its Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and “bull case” articles are helping keep Alphabet in focus, but these are mostly sentiment-driven and do not change fundamentals on their own. Bull of the Day: Alphabet (GOOG)
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces a new class action lawsuit from publishers and authors accusing it of using copyrighted works to train Gemini, adding another legal risk around its AI strategy. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Swiss regulators opened a preliminary probe into Google’s removal of the Android “choice screen” for search, increasing antitrust scrutiny in Europe. German media regulator says Google’s AI Overviews subject to German media law
• Negative Sentiment: New York’s moratorium on certain data centers is another overhang for hyperscalers like Alphabet, potentially complicating AI infrastructure expansion and increasing investor concern about capex and power costs. AMZN, GOOGL, META: Hyperscalers Hit as New York State Imposes Moratorium on Data Centers

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $378.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $369.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $335.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.