Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The company traded as high as $330.54 and last traded at $326.33, with a volume of 6796834 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $322.43.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $300.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $318.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total transaction of $31,971.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,706,357.25. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 227,965 shares of company stock valued at $67,495,822. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets boost upside expectations for GOOG, with Canaccord and others lifting targets well above prior levels — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Canaccord Raises PT to $390
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum: reports show Gemini gaining share versus ChatGPT and Gemini-powered features rolling into Gmail at scale — this supports stronger ad/search monetization and cloud expectations. Gemini Gains Market Share
• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap milestone: Alphabet briefly overtook Apple as the world’s No.2 public company — a sign of investor confidence that can attract index/ETF flows and reinforce momentum. Alphabet Surpasses Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Wiz acquisition pending EU approval by Feb.10 — approval would remove a large M&A overhang; rejection would be a setback. Outcome is material but binary. EU to Decide on Wiz Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo branding/product updates signal long-term autonomy growth but limited near-term EPS impact; watch commercialization cadence. Waymo Rebrands Robotaxi
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational pressure: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to suspend X and Grok from their app stores over sexualized images of minors created via AI — a headline that raises moderation/regulatory scrutiny for app stores and Google’s ecosystem. Senators Call to Suspend X and Grok
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure from AI products: Alphabet and Character.AI settled suits alleging AI chatbots harmed minors (including a teen suicide), underscoring potential costs, regulation and reputational risk. AI Lawsuit Settlements
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and talent movement: CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed a multi-million-dollar share sale; separately, Nvidia hired a Google marketing veteran — both can weigh on near-term sentiment and raise questions about insider cashing and talent retention. Pichai Share Sale

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Constitution Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Keb Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 74,353 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,332,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. Finally, Clear Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $481,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

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.