JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $232.00 to $220.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.33% from the stock’s current price.

GOOGL has been the topic of several other research reports. China Renaissance upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Alphabet Stock Down 8.4 %

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $17.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $189.12. 32,877,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,173,271. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.40.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,029 shares of company stock valued at $18,462,883 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 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.