Wolfe Research Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price lifted by Wolfe Research from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.89% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on GOOGL. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.44.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $2.42 on Friday, hitting $191.85. 3,674,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,386,701. The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.17 and its 200 day moving average is $172.28. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $201.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,342,143.80. The trade was a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,519 shares of company stock worth $27,734,316 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,789,000 after buying an additional 11,834 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 5,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.