Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its target price lifted by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $210.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.82.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $195.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $186.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.61. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $202.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total value of $234,331.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,745.58. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. The trade was a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,887 shares of company stock valued at $22,470,464 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Denver PWM LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 25.4% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.