Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $460.00 to $420.00. The stock had previously closed at $341.91, but opened at $321.63. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alphabet shares last traded at $318.5450, with a volume of 11,505,370 shares.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOG. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $360.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

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.