Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 2.7% – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price rose 2.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $207.77 and last traded at $208.15. Approximately 6,007,736 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 15,733,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 122,529 shares of company stock worth $22,453,483. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% 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.