Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was up 1.8% during trading on Tuesday after Phillip Securities upgraded the stock from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $335.21 and last traded at $332.60. Approximately 20,219,124 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 21,551,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.57.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 285,049 shares of company stock valued at $10,051,351 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s second-quarter results showed 24% year-over-year revenue growth, an EPS beat and an 82% increase in Google Cloud revenue. Analysts and bullish investors argue that cloud demand, AI monetization and resilient Search and YouTube businesses could justify the investment cycle. Alphabet: Buy The Capex-Caused Decline
• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong-buy,” while KeyCorp modestly raised its FY2028 EPS forecast. These actions suggest some analysts view the earnings outlook as strong enough to offset near-term spending concerns. Alphabet upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional activity was broadly supportive: Asset Management One added approximately 117,000 GOOGL shares, and reports highlighted larger Alphabet positions from prominent value investors. Alphabet’s weighting also contributed positively to broad-market ETF performance. Asset Management One fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading is occurring ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and additional major technology earnings, leaving Alphabet exposed to broader market volatility and changes in interest-rate expectations. Wall Street rebounds ahead of FOMC and Big Tech earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s 2026 capital-spending forecast of roughly $195 billion to $205 billion triggered the earlier selloff, as AI spending pushed free cash flow negative and raised concerns about returns on investment, dilution and valuation. Analyst revises Google stock price target
• Negative Sentiment: European rivals may pursue as much as $10 billion in damages after a major Digital Markets Act penalty, increasing Alphabet’s regulatory and litigation exposure. Waymo also faces scrutiny over autonomous-vehicle responses to emergency responders. Google rivals seek damages after EU fine
• Negative Sentiment: Provident Trust reduced its GOOG and GOOGL holdings by about 21%, while a major shareholder disclosed additional sales. These transactions may add some pressure, although they are less significant than the company’s earnings and capital-allocation outlook. Provident Trust fund update

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $359.30 and a 200-day moving average of $337.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

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.