Roth Capital Increases Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target to $440.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Roth Capital from $435.00 to $440.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Roth Capital’s target price suggests a potential upside of 37.89% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $360.63 and a 200 day moving average of $337.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $188.70 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after purchasing an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

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.