Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 531,129 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 309,498 call options.

Alphabet Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $15.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.70. 40,884,626 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,522,469. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,029 shares of company stock valued at $18,462,883 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.95.

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.