Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a research note released on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Arete Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. China Renaissance upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Phillip Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.67.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $344.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.12. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $147.84 and a 52-week high of $349.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897 over the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet commits to a strategic AI partnership that secures long-term model and compute capacity — Google will invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic (a $10B tranche now, $30B contingent on milestones). The deal strengthens Alphabet’s access to leading generative-AI models, supports product roadmap and cloud demand, and reduces the risk of competitors locking up third‑party model supply. Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic in cash and compute
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is lifting sentiment — multiple firms have reaffirmed or raised ratings/targets (Jefferies, Needham, JPMorgan, UBS moves reported), reinforcing a bullish view that AI and Cloud will drive upside to estimates. This analyst momentum is helping push the stock higher into the next earnings print. Alphabet: Jefferies keeps its ‘Buy’ rating
• Positive Sentiment: Product and infrastructure catalysts: new TPU 8i inference chip, expanded Workspace AI features and enterprise wins (Ulta, AutoZone migrations) point to faster, lower‑cost AI scaling and increased Cloud/ads monetization potential. These operational advances support margins and longer-term revenue growth. Alphabet Stock Gains After Unveiling New AI Inference Chip
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector labor disruption from AI: broader reporting that AI is displacing tech jobs may pressure sentiment for the sector but is only an indirect, mixed impact on Alphabet — potential cost savings versus reputation/PR and macro consumption effects. Whether It’s ‘Disruption’ or ‘Renormalization,’ AI Is Killing Tech Jobs
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term earnings setup: several outlets and banks expect a modest Q1 beat driven by AI and Cloud strength; this supports the rally but leaves the stock exposed to any surprise guidance. Alphabet set to report modest beat for Q1 driven by AI, Cloud growth
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in Europe: the European Commission is pressuring Google to give rival AI assistants deeper Android access — a move that could weaken Alphabet’s ecosystem advantage and advertising/engagement moat if implemented. Regulatory actions remain a meaningful downside risk. Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access
• Negative Sentiment: Large contingent capital commitment and valuation exposure: while the Anthropic deal is strategic, the $30B contingent tranche and Anthropic’s ~$350B valuation create execution and financial-commitment risks if performance targets aren’t met or scrutiny increases. Investors may worry about future cash/compute obligations and valuation optics. Google plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, Bloomberg reports

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.