2,081 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Acquired by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,695 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.8% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 190,923,442 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $67,458,980,000 after purchasing an additional 5,208,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,922,379 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,288,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,083,758 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,313,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,117,460,000 after buying an additional 913,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Alphabet by 24.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,209,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,080,616,000 after buying an additional 3,432,287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $321.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $338.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $338.76. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $268.43 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.60 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply. Cloud revenue more than doubled to approximately $30.7 billion, reflecting strong enterprise demand and supporting the view that Alphabet’s AI investments are generating substantial revenue. Google Cloud Revenue Just Grew 103%, so Why Is the Stock Falling?
• Positive Sentiment: AI products and infrastructure offer longer-term upside. Alphabet launched its Gemini 4 Carbon model, expanded AI Search advertising internationally and reportedly attracted interest from OpenAI in its internally developed TPU chips. One analyst described the post-earnings pullback as a potential buying opportunity. Google’s post-earnings stock pullback could be a buying opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue remained solid but the mix was concerning. Total revenue rose 25% to about $127.6 billion, close to expectations, while YouTube advertising increased 9%. However, investors are increasingly focused on whether AI-driven businesses can offset slowing growth in Google’s core Search advertising franchise. Google Shares Fall as Ad Revenue Misses Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and cash flow disappointed. Third-quarter EPS of $2.12 missed consensus estimates near $3.00 and fell from $2.87 a year earlier, partly due to an approximately $8.7 billion investment loss. Capital expenditures reached roughly $51.4 billion, while free cash flow turned negative as Alphabet expanded data-center capacity and hired AI talent. The heavy spending raised concerns that AI returns may take longer to materialize. Alphabet’s heavy cloud spending drives bigger-than-expected cash burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain secondary overhangs. South Korean authorities fined Google over alleged app-market practices, while multiple law firms publicized securities litigation tied to alleged disclosures about Gemini development. These issues were less important than earnings but could add longer-term uncertainty. South Korea fines Google and Apple over unfair app market practices

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. KeyCorp set a $410.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $440.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent organization of Google. Founded in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, online services, communications, artificial intelligence, and other emerging areas.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, digital advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Workspace. The company also provides cloud computing, data storage, cybersecurity, productivity, and artificial intelligence services through Google Cloud.