Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 2.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $355.20 and last traded at $356.38. 31,729,626 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 31,985,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $364.26.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is getting a bullish long-term earnings outlook from analysts, with commentary pointing to strong AI and cloud growth into 2027. Veteran Analyst Firm Resets Alphabet Forecast for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini with new small-business features, highlighting ongoing monetization efforts for its AI products and a broader push to make Gemini more useful for commercial users. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive upbeat long-term growth coverage, with some analysts describing it as a top growth stock thanks to its AI, search, and cloud businesses. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini app reportedly doubled monthly users to 900 million, reinforcing the scale of its AI ecosystem and suggesting growing engagement. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street price-target chatter remains constructive, with some forecasts implying meaningful upside over the next couple of years. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Cloud said a fire at a third-party facility caused intermittent network disruptions for some customers in India, a reminder of operational risks, though the incident appears limited. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google and Meta a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, keeping legal overhang alive for Alphabet’s YouTube business. Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern also remains focused on Alphabet’s heavy AI spending, Waymo expansion costs, and search-business shifts, which may be pressuring valuation. Alphabet’s AI Spend, Waymo Expansion And Search Shifts Weigh On Valuation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price target (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $356.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.17.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $447,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $290,000. Evansbrook LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 16.1% during the first quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 9,827 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Finally, DBK Financial Counsel LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 4.0% during the first quarter. DBK Financial Counsel LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.