Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Short Interest Update

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 44,038,271 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the March 15th total of 34,727,040 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 22,644,491 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.0%

Alphabet stock traded up $6.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $339.40. The stock had a trading volume of 19,632,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,433,800. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $305.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.50. Alphabet has a one year low of $148.40 and a one year high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 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: Reports say Google is in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow its Gemini models to be used in classified settings — a potential large, high‑visibility contract that would expand Alphabet’s government AI footprint and validate Gemini for sensitive enterprise use. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: QuiverQuant flags a large institutional buying update: SG Americas reportedly added ~9.8M GOOGL shares in its 13F — a sign of meaningful institutional demand. Fund Update: SG Americas Securities, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a long‑term energy supply deal (NiSource) to power a large Indiana data center — reduces power risk for hyperscale operations and supports cloud/AI capacity growth. NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google announced personalized image generation tied to Gemini and new features (Nano Banana) — tangible AI product rollouts that support user engagement and future monetization paths. Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships (e.g., Thoma Bravo) and analyst/upside coverage highlight enterprise AI/Cyber expansion — supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond ads. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst and retail pieces reiterate Alphabet as a top long‑term growth/AI pick — helpful for sentiment but largely opinion‑driven. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Price forecasts from ML models and ranking lists (Finbold, Motley Fool) are circulating — they draw attention but are speculative and not a primary driver of fundamentals. Machine learning algorithm predicts Google stock price on April 30, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: The EU’s Digital Markets Act proposals would force Google to share detailed search/ranking/click data with rivals — a material regulatory risk that could weaken search defensibility and ad targeting advantages. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is guiding toward higher AI capex for 2026 (data center, custom silicon, energy costs) — analysts warn this could compress margins and free cash flow in the near term. Alphabet Shares Rise 7% YTD: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and antitrust pressures (Android/App distribution suits, advertiser arbitration) and some asset managers trimming positions add regulatory/legal downside and selling signals. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.03.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.