Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $372.14 and last traded at $370.21. 18,920,112 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 21,462,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $357.33.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly upbeat ahead of earnings, with analysts citing strong revenue growth, improving AI monetization, and a surging Cloud business; some reports point to revenue around $117 billion, EPS growth of about 25%, and targets in the $435-$445 range. Should You Invest in Alphabet (GOOGL) Ahead of Its July 22 Earnings Release?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other firms highlighted Alphabet’s Cloud growth and AI economics as possible catalysts for a strong quarter, reinforcing the case that the company can beat expectations and support its premium valuation. Alphabet could crush estimates on Cloud strength, Anthropic windfall: BofA
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet stake, a notable vote of confidence that has helped sentiment around GOOG. Warren Buffett tells CNBC he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also continues to expand its AI product lineup and partnerships, including updates to Google Vids, AI Mode app integrations, and work with the x402 payments initiative, signaling more ways to monetize AI over time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is widely expected to report earnings on July 22, so the stock may remain volatile as investors wait for confirmation of cloud and AI growth trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fund-flow and analyst coverage updates show mixed positioning, with some institutions trimming exposure while others, including Berkshire, added significant shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet’s Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model is delayed by months have raised concerns that Google is lagging rivals in the AI race, weighing on the stock and sparking investor scrutiny. Google Gemini launch delayed as tech falls short of internal goals, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union issued new rules forcing Google to open Android and search data to rivals, adding to regulatory pressure and increasing the risk of future compliance costs and competitive headwinds. Google required to open up to AI, search engine rivals under EU-mandated changes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing legal and reputational pressure from lawsuits, securities-fraud investigations, and criticism tied to AI search safety, which could keep investors cautious even if fundamentals stay strong.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $383.44.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.4%

The company has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $367.31 and a 200 day moving average of $336.58.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.