Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares traded down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $303.90 and last traded at $306.02. 20,074,373 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 23,743,082 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.37.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $325.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $321.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,224,380. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total transaction of $202,512.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,163,524.48. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,069,864 shares of company stock valued at $105,985,041 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.