Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 3.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $373.25 and last traded at $372.19. Approximately 42,740,361 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the average daily volume of 31,973,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.99.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Phillip Securities increased their price objective 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. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $327.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.