Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 1.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price traded up 1.1% on Tuesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $355.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $341.20 and last traded at $336.43. 24,472,342 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 21,708,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.73.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $318.36.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 227,365 shares of company stock worth $67,350,070. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple confirmed a multi‑year deal to use Google’s Gemini models to power next‑gen Siri — validates Gemini at scale, creates a recurring licensing revenue stream for Google Cloud and gives Alphabet direct exposure to billions of iPhone users. Google and Apple enter into multi-year AI deal for Gemini models
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet crossed the $4 trillion market‑cap milestone on renewed AI optimism — a signal of strong investor confidence that AI (Gemini, TPUs, Cloud) can drive sustained revenue growth beyond ads. Alphabet hits $4 trillion valuation as AI refocus lifts sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are lifting targets — TD Cowen bumped its price target to $355 with a Buy rating, reinforcing the case that near‑term AI progress and cloud momentum leave room for further upside. TD Cowen raises GOOG price target to $355 – Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Options/valuation notes: several market pieces argue Alphabet remains undervalued versus analyst targets and point to high OTM‑put premiums (1‑month 5% OTM put yielding ~2.5%) — a sign some investors are comfortable selling puts to finance long exposure. Alphabet Stock Is Still Undervalued According to Analysts – 1 Month GOOGL Puts Yield 2.50%
• Neutral Sentiment: Google reportedly will develop and manufacture high‑end phones in Vietnam this year — could diversify hardware supply chains and margins but impact to profits and timing is uncertain. Google to develop, manufacture smartphones in Vietnam, Nikkei Asia says
• Neutral Sentiment: Some funds trimmed Alphabet positions in recent 13F updates — normal portfolio rebalancing that slightly tempers demand but doesn’t signal a broad sell‑off. Fund Update: DAVENPORT & Co LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and analyst caution: a few note that much of Alphabet’s near‑term upside is already priced in after last year’s big rally and have trimmed ratings (downgrades from “strong buy” to “buy”), which could cap short‑term gains if sentiment cools. Alphabet: Reviewing My 2025 Top Pick, Downgrade To Buy On Less Attractive Setup
• Negative Sentiment: Public criticism (e.g., from Elon Musk) of the Apple‑Google tie-up may fuel regulatory or reputation talk — mostly noise short‑term but a potential risk if it sparks political/regulatory scrutiny. Elon Musk Slams Google, Apple Deal: ‘Unreasonable Concentration Of Power’

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 121.3% in the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

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.