Alphabet Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 392,187 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 23% compared to the typical daily volume of 317,596 call options.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $171.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.39. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $103.54 and a twelve month high of $174.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $141.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.82.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 61,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,591,000 after acquiring an additional 4,664 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 15,747 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,416,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,908,000 after acquiring an additional 104,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NatWest Group plc grew its position in Alphabet by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 100,793 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,080,000 after acquiring an additional 71,057 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.