Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading 2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $360.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $332.48 and last traded at $328.38. 35,037,391 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 32,443,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $268.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price 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, forty-two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.94.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.48, for a total transaction of $9,213,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,337,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,526,494.12. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,909 shares of company stock worth $57,927,282. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price‑target raises have lifted sentiment — Raymond James raised its target to $400, Deutsche Bank to $370, and Wedbush to $360, all signaling higher earnings/AI potential expectations for GOOGL. Alphabet Stock Rises — Raymond James Hikes Price Target to $400
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanded its robotaxi service to Miami — operational progress at Waymo highlights Alphabet’s long‑term autonomous‑driving opportunity and potential new revenue channels. Waymo launches robotaxi service in Miami, extending U.S. lead
• Positive Sentiment: Google awarded long‑term power purchase agreements to Clearway Energy for data‑center carbon‑free energy — improves sustainability profile and predictable energy costs for cloud/data infrastructure. Alphabet’s Google Awards PPAs to Clearway Energy to Receive Carbon-Free Energy For Its Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and sector pieces continue to cite Alphabet’s vertical AI integration (Gemini, TPUs, Cloud partnerships) as a durable competitive advantage — supports higher multiples and long‑term growth expectations. Google Stock Is Up 65: What’s Driving This Rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat flagged a modest pullback from record highs and advised patience for new buyers — technical consolidation vs. an outright sell‑off; key support near $300 could matter for timing buys. Alphabet Cools After the Run: Buy Now or Wait for a Better Entry?
• Neutral Sentiment: YouTube leadership is prioritizing management of AI‑generated content — important for user trust and ad ecosystem health, but mainly an operational/PR item rather than near‑term revenue catalyst. YouTube chief says ‘managing AI slop’ is a priority for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary (Jim Cramer) notes rotation away from Magnificent Seven during short‑term sector moves, though he expects rotation back eventually — suggests potential volatility from flow shifts. Jim Cramer says he’s not abandoning the Mag 7 stocks despite recent struggles. Here’s why
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Alphabet from “strong‑buy” to “hold” — a reminder that some sell‑side views are trimming near‑term upside, which can weigh on momentum if followed by others. Cantor Fitzgerald Downgrades Alphabet

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co boosted its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

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 company has a market cap of $3.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $314.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.45.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.