Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $182.00 to $187.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GOOG. UBS Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $176.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $123.93 and a 52-week high of $193.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.56 and its 200 day moving average is $170.30.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,334 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.