Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded down 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $302.35 and last traded at $307.38. 35,597,926 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 36,450,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $312.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Alphabet’s “quiet edge” — big hidden assets (14% stake in Anthropic, an early SpaceX stake and massive device distribution) that amplify AI and cloud upside beyond Search and YouTube. Alphabet’s Quiet Edge: The Hidden Assets Powering Its Run
• Positive Sentiment: South Korea approved Google’s request to export high‑precision map data — clears a major market access barrier for Google Maps and mapping-related revenue/opportunity in Korea. South Korea approves Google bid to export high-precision map data
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Meta will rent Google’s TPU AI chips for model training — validation of Google’s AI infrastructure business and a potential multi‑billion revenue stream for cloud/TPU services. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta, Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet folded robotics unit Intrinsic into Google and signals Gemini may power next‑gen robots — deepens AI product integration and expands commercial AI addressable market. Alphabet’s robotics platform Intrinsic joins Google to support AI models
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 (image‑generation model) with faster, better outputs — product improvements that help retain user engagement across AI services. Google rolls out Nano Banana 2
• Positive Sentiment: Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller increased his Alphabet stake again — a notable institutional vote of confidence often read positively by the market. Druckenmiller Piled Into Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other analyst pieces reiterate Alphabet’s AI‑fueled edge in Search and Cloud vs. Meta, reinforcing the consensus growth story but not changing near‑term guidance. Meta Platforms vs. Alphabet: Which Digital Ad Behemoth Has an Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo’s planned expansion toward Chicago signals long‑term commercialization progress but remains a multi‑year revenue story rather than an immediate profit driver. Waymo to bring driverless cars to Chicago
• Negative Sentiment: Belgian competition watchdog opened a probe into Google’s online ad pricing practices — regulatory and legal risk that could pressure ad revenue or require business changes. Belgian watchdog opens probe into Google’s online ad price practices
• Negative Sentiment: Internal tensions: 100+ Google AI employees urged limits on some military uses of Gemini, highlighting governance/ethical frictions that could complicate product deployment and public perception. Google Workers Seek ‘Red Lines’ on Military A.I.
• Negative Sentiment: Schaeffer’s options commentary warns bulls to watch for faltering action and offers a trade for subscribers — a signal some traders are positioning for short‑term downside or increased volatility. Bulls Should Keep Watch on Faltering Alphabet Stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.57.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,112,482 shares of company stock valued at $119,145,289. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Arwa LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,272,000. Instrumental Wealth LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Mishpacha Holdings Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $18,302,000. Financially in Tune LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 968,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $303,262,000 after purchasing an additional 77,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

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.