Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

GOOG has been the topic of several other reports. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of GOOG opened at $358.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $173.88 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $334.74.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from the AI infrastructure spending boom, with analysts highlighting Google Cloud, data centers, and AI hardware demand as growth drivers for the company. 3 Top-Ranked Stocks Riding on Massive AI Infrastructure Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Google Search saw record query traffic during the World Cup, reinforcing the strength of its core search business and ad engine. World Cup drives Google Search to record queries per second
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to expand driverless rides to four more major cities this year, which could strengthen Alphabet’s optionality beyond advertising and cloud. Waymo Plans to Expand Driverless Cars to 4 More Major Cities This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles argue Alphabet remains attractively valued versus other Magnificent 7 names, with some investors seeing the stock as a better long-term AI compounder. Magnificent 7 stocks are now at their cheapest in about 10 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s lobbying disclosure shows continued spending on AI, privacy, cybersecurity, and energy policy issues, indicating active regulatory engagement rather than a direct business catalyst. Lobbying Update: $50,000 of GOOGLE CLIENT SERVICES LLC lobbying was just disclosed
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s appeals of an Indian trademark/ads ruling could create legal overhang, but the company argues the decision would also harm consumers by limiting keyword advertising competition. Google appeals Indian ruling over its ads platform, citing consumer harm
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary points to a “massive bill” in Alphabet’s Q2 results, which could be pressuring sentiment around margins and earnings quality. Alphabet’s Q2 Includes A Massive Bill Nobody’s Talking About

About Alphabet

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.