Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price decreased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $415.00 to $400.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.36% from the stock’s current price.

GOOG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $360.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.38. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,827,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares during the period. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More 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

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.