Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Receives “Buy” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.60.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $328.04 on Monday. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $340.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $315.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 222,409 shares of company stock worth $68,564,532. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on GOOGL with a $330 price target, signaling confidence in near-term fundamentals and adding support to the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish price-target move: A recent note raised Alphabet’s price target to $390, a materially higher target that can boost investor expectations for further upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional broker support: Raymond James upgraded Alphabet, adding to the chorus of buy-side endorsements that can attract flows into the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Industry/strategy endorsement: Multiple analyst and media pieces highlight Alphabet’s AI positioning (Google Gemini, search moat), reinforcing long-term growth narratives that support a higher valuation multiple. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet VC momentum: Nvidia and Alphabet’s VC arm participated in a $200M round for AI video startup Synthesia at a $4B valuation — positive for Alphabet’s ecosystem exposure but only an indirect impact on core revenues. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market headwinds: Nasdaq futures are trading lower ahead of a pivotal Fed decision and several big tech earnings, creating short-term volatility risk for high-multiple names like Alphabet. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: CEO Sundar Pichai sold ~30,000 shares recently — a potential negative signal for some investors, though he remains a very large shareholder. Monitor filings for context (size, plan). Article Title

About Alphabet

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.