Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Westpark Capital

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was upgraded by analysts at Westpark Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GOOGL. DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.49.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $157.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet has a one year low of $147.22 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.