Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 2.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 2.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $286.42 and last traded at $284.31. Approximately 30,282,079 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 35,931,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $277.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $288.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.09.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.4%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $246.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%.The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,402,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,896 shares of company stock valued at $45,092,175. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 23.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 21,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after buying an additional 4,052 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 33.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 75,680 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,470,000 after buying an additional 18,968 shares in the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 59,170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,384,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.