Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Freedom Capital

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on GOOG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $319.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $360.63 and a 200 day moving average of $337.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet has a one year low of $188.70 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.