Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $342.12 and last traded at $340.1570, with a volume of 349658 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $336.28.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne family office highlighted mega-cap tech as top “growth at a reasonable price” picks, drawing attention to Alphabet as a buy from a respected macro investor. Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office: Top 5 Growth-at-Reasonable-Price Picks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target lift: KeyBanc raised its price target to $360 citing AI and Cloud momentum, supporting a higher valuation thesis for GOOG. Alphabet (GOOGL) Price Target Lifted at KeyBanc on AI and Cloud Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Recent 13F filings show funds (e.g., Badgley Phelps, Migdal) increasing GOOGL/GOOG stakes, which can provide buying support. Fund Update: Badgley Phelps Wealth Managers, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI momentum: Google added AI image generation to Chrome and expanded its assistant features — tangible product rollouts that support the company’s AI monetization story. Google adds AI image generation to Chrome browser, side panel option for virtual assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Security action reduces operational risk: Google disrupted a large residential proxy network used by bad actors, a move that lowers external abuse risk and is favorable for user trust and enterprise customers. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by operators by ‘millions’
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance: Monness reiterated a Hold rating, signaling balanced risk/reward despite AI tailwinds. Balanced Risk-Reward and Strong AI Momentum Justify Hold Rating on Alphabet
• Negative Sentiment: Safety probe into Waymo: U.S. road-safety officials opened an investigation after a robotaxi struck a child — this raises near-term regulatory and reputational risk for Waymo and for Alphabet’s autonomous-vehicle ambitions. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Gains amid U.S. Probe into Waymo after Robotaxi Hits Child
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in U.K./EU: The U.K. CMA and EU proposals would force new rules — giving publishers opt-out rights for AI summaries and requiring greater access for rivals — potentially limiting how Google uses content and monetizes AI features in major markets. UK regulator proposes changes to Google search for publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/settlement cost: Google agreed to a $135M settlement over handling of cellular data, a modest but tangible legal expense and operational change. Google to Pay $135 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Handling of Cellular Data
• Negative Sentiment: Some fund trimming: Large European investor B. Metzler reduced its GOOGL position meaningfully in the 13F filing, which could add selling pressure for the stock. Fund Update: B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Just Disclosed New Holdings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $319.16 and a 200-day moving average of $264.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.30, for a total value of $10,637,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,211,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,945,705.60. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 225,075 shares of company stock worth $69,332,637 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 121.3% in the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.