Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1% Higher

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $159.94 and last traded at $159.53. 4,345,712 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 21,914,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Alphabet Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $147.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,922.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 23,828 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 26,010 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.9% during the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 388,919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,217,000 after purchasing an additional 14,481 shares during the period. TrueWealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Bluesphere Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 5.2% during the first quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.