Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $205.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $174.71 and last traded at $171.69, with a volume of 21504390 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush lifted their target price on Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Alphabet from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.82.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 87.5% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 10.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.