Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $416.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $435.00 to $416.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.54.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $361.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $370.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $333.88. The company has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet has a one year low of $172.77 and a one year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511 over the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get support from bullish commentary around its AI and advertising franchise, plus its recent addition to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which can boost index-linked demand for GOOGL. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google also launched Nano Banana 2 Lite, a faster and cheaper AI image/video generator, which may help strengthen its generative AI product lineup. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signing on to OpenUSD adds another signal that Alphabet is expanding into digital payments and commerce infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider selling by executives and directors appears routine and relatively small, so it is not a major fundamental signal by itself. Alphabet insider John Kent Walker sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Europe’s top court dismissed Google’s appeal of a record €4.1 billion Android antitrust fine, extending legal overhang and reinforcing regulatory risk. EU top court dismisses Google fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: A Swedish court also ordered Google to pay roughly $1.5 billion to PriceRunner/Klarna in a separate antitrust case, adding another costly legal development for the company. Swedish court orders Google pay $1.46 bn for favoring its price comparisons

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.