Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Target Lowered at Citigroup

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $447.00 to $375.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Citigroup‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 34.01% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.46.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $279.84. 65,347,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,142,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.43. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $270.70 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 50.03%. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet will post 20.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,403,303,000 after buying an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,865,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,371 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,724,321 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,334,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,721 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Alphabet by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 17,079,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,911,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,400 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 90.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,900,078,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered exceptional growth. Revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while the unit’s backlog reached $561 billion. Analysts and bullish investors view this as evidence that Alphabet’s AI investments are generating meaningful demand. Alphabet’s Cloud Business Just Doubled
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after lowering expectations. Wells Fargo cut its price target to $371 while retaining an overweight rating; RBC, Wedbush, KeyCorp and others also reduced targets but generally maintained positive ratings. Guggenheim and Needham reaffirmed buy ratings with $450 targets. Wells Fargo Alphabet price target
• Neutral Sentiment: The valuation has become more attractive after the selloff. Some coverage describes Alphabet as trading at its cheapest valuation in years, creating potential long-term upside if Search stabilizes and Cloud profitability offsets AI infrastructure costs. Alphabet valuation after selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet missed quarterly expectations. Earnings per share were $2.12 versus roughly $2.94–$3.02 expected, while revenue of $127.6 billion was slightly below consensus. An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment also reduced reported earnings by about $0.55 per share. Alphabet Q3 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Search and advertising growth raised concerns about AI cannibalization. Search revenue grew, but missed estimates for the second consecutive quarter. Investors worry that AI-generated answers and lower-monetizing “AI Mode” searches could weaken Alphabet’s most profitable business. Alphabet Search earnings concerns
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow. Alphabet reported approximately $9.1 billion of negative free cash flow as capital expenditures and data-center investment surged. Investors are demanding clearer evidence that the spending will translate into profits, particularly as the company maintains its aggressive AI buildout. AI spending and Alphabet cash flow

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.