Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares dropped 2.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $320.43 and last traded at $322.00. Approximately 34,806,957 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 32,179,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.00.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sales surge for Gemini AI models — Reports say Google has seen a meaningful uptick in sales of its Gemini AI models, which investors interpret as improving product quality and stronger monetization of AI offerings; that supports longer‑term revenue/ads and cloud monetization narratives. Google Sees Surge in Sales of Gemini AI Models
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target upgrades — Deutsche Bank raised its PT to $370 (buy) and Robert W. Baird lifted its PT to $350 (outperform); analyst upward revisions signal stronger earnings/AI growth expectations and likely provided buying support ahead of today’s session. Deutsche Bank Adjusts PT Baird Adjusts PT
• Positive Sentiment: Broader bullish analyst commentary on tech — Coverage noting AI/cloud winners (including Alphabet) and pieces recommending GOOGL as a long‑term buy are reinforcing investor conviction in secular growth drivers. Fool Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s milestone valuation and coverage on AI-driven strategy — Coverage noting Alphabet’s entry to the $4T club underscores scale and strategic positioning in AI, but it’s more of a thematic tailwind than an immediate catalyst. Alphabet Enters $4 Trillion Club
• Negative Sentiment: Market risk-off from geopolitical/tariff tensions — Tech stocks led a broader sell‑off tied to escalating tensions over Greenland and tariff rhetoric, producing short‑term outflows and weighing on high‑beta/AI‑growth stocks like GOOGL. Tech Sell-off on Greenland Tensions
• Negative Sentiment: Delay at Google‑backed Isomorphic Labs — Isomorphic Labs pushed expected first clinical trials to end‑2026, which tempers near‑term biotech upside tied to Alphabet’s moonshot bets and may modestly reduce investor enthusiasm for non‑core R&D catalysts. Isomorphic Labs Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Magnificent Seven divergence — Commentary that the AI‑led mega caps are decoupling and some are lagging the market adds to rotation risk and short‑term volatility for GOOGL. WSJ: Group Divergence

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. CICC Research lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $240.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $329.08.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.4%

The firm has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total value of $31,971.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,706,357.25. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,909 shares of company stock worth $57,927,282. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.