Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $176.42 and last traded at $172.82, with a volume of 16627219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.95.

The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $165.67.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 253,439 shares of company stock worth $36,746,578. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 9,412 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. increased its position in Alphabet by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 2,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 7,552 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 10.0 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

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.