Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price was up 3.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $319.39 and last traded at $314.74. Approximately 20,657,604 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 21,979,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.93.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom‑Google‑Anthropic supply and TPU agreements lock in long‑term AI infrastructure for Google, improving compute scale and third‑party TPU availability that underpins Google Cloud and Gemini deployments. This reduces supply risk and supports enterprise AI monetization. Broadcom signs long-term deal to develop Google’s custom AI chips (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Google Finance rolled out an AI overhaul and real‑time insights across 100+ countries — a product upgrade that can boost user engagement and ad/product monetization across Google’s ecosystem. Google Finance Gets AI Overhaul (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Wing (Alphabet’s drone unit) and DoorDash expanded drone deliveries into Atlanta — a steady execution signal for “Other Bets” commercialization and new last‑mile revenue channels. Wing Drone Unit, DoorDash Expand Into Atlanta (Investors Business Daily)
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Cloud continues to be the fastest‑growing major cloud platform with accelerating AI workloads and a surging cloud backlog — a multi‑quarter growth driver, though it comes with heavy 2026 capex commitments that investors are watching.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro tailwind: tech rallied after a reported U.S.–Iran ceasefire, lifting large-cap names including Alphabet as part of a broader risk‑on move. Tech rally after ceasefire (CNBC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains supportive (buy ratings and notes emphasizing Alphabet as an AI beneficiary and cloud leader), which helps sentiment but may already be priced in. Analyst bullish note (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: TCW’s Relative Value Large Cap Fund sold Alphabet after meeting valuation criteria — a visible institutional sell that can pressure sentiment if followed by others. TCW fund sold Alphabet (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/ESG risk: reports of hyperscaler data‑center pushback (water, land, energy) could delay capacity expansion and raise costs for big cloud builders, including Google. That adds execution risk to an otherwise bullish cloud story. Data center pushback (Benzinga/Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive watch: Meta’s new AI model debut underscores intensifying competition in AI products and ad monetization, which could compress long‑term margins if competitors capture engagement. Meta debuts new AI model (YouTube/CNBC)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GOOG shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $307.66 and a 200 day moving average of $297.91. The company has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 2,069,344 shares of company stock worth $104,708,426 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,699,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,941,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $646,000. Finally, AMG Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.