Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.3% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $343.09 and last traded at $342.36. Approximately 23,444,866 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 31,109,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.83.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Alphabet’s Gemini ecosystem, AI monetization potential, Google Search, and Google Cloud growth giving it an advantage over Apple in consumer AI. This reinforces the bullish view that Alphabet can turn its AI investments into additional revenue while protecting its core advertising business. Alphabet vs. Apple: Which Consumer AI Tech Stock Has an Edge Now?
  • Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud signed an AI partnership with BNP Paribas, while other businesses are adopting Gemini-powered tools. These deals support continued enterprise demand, although BNP Paribas will keep some sensitive workloads off public cloud infrastructure. Alphabet’s Google Cloud, BNP Paribas Enter Partnership on AI Capabilities
  • Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is advancing several longer-term growth initiatives: Project Suncatcher will test AI chips in orbit on October 1, and Waymo is preparing commercial robotaxi expansion in Tokyo and Las Vegas. These projects broaden Alphabet’s opportunity beyond advertising, though they remain early-stage and potentially capital-intensive. Google plans first test of AI chips in space under Project Suncatcher
  • Neutral Sentiment: Fidelity’s large-cap growth fund has a substantial allocation to Alphabet, highlighting institutional confidence but also concentration risk: weak performance from Alphabet or major AI-chip holdings could disproportionately affect fund returns. The Case For and Against Fidelity’s Fundamental Large Cap Growth ETF
  • Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Google is changing Search in Europe to comply with the Digital Markets Act, potentially affecting traffic and monetization, while a Google AI-chip employee’s resignation over safety concerns adds reputational risk. Higher Treasury yields may also pressure richly valued technology stocks. Google is Changing Search to Avoid More EU Fines

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on GOOGL

Alphabet Trading Up 0.5%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $344.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 450,426 shares of company stock worth $11,831,050. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $85,403,303,000 after acquiring an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,394,474 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,208,470,000 after purchasing an additional 208,362 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 38,106,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,927,189,000 after purchasing an additional 583,078 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,865,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 29,166,806 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,129,210,000 after buying an additional 478,848 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet’s largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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