Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 3.8% – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price rose 3.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $369.86 and last traded at $369.27. Approximately 37,471,776 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 76% from the average daily volume of 21,238,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.68.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured more evidence of strong AI demand, including a multi-year expanded Google Cloud partnership with Lovable and reports that Google Cloud could help power Apple’s Siri, highlighting growing enterprise and consumer AI relevance.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment was boosted by Berkshire Hathaway’s large Alphabet stake and other notable buying interest, which some traders viewed as a strong endorsement of Alphabet’s AI strategy and balance-sheet strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles pointed to Alphabet’s huge AI-driven capital program and cloud backlog as signs the company is investing aggressively to capture more demand, with analysts continuing to publish bullish price targets and “Buy” ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s UPSIZED equity offering for AI infrastructure is being interpreted as both a growth catalyst and a source of possible dilution, so investors are balancing faster AI expansion against the cost of funding it.
• Neutral Sentiment: The launch of a voluntary U.S. AI cybersecurity review, along with positive commentary on Anthropic’s IPO prospects, may indirectly support Alphabet’s position in the broader AI ecosystem, but the impact is less immediate.
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces fresh UK regulatory pressure: the CMA is forcing search-related conduct changes that let publishers opt out of AI summaries and model training, which could constrain Google’s AI search monetization and publisher relationships. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $346.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $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.