Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 1.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares shot up 1.6% during trading on Monday after Wolfe Research raised their price target on the stock from $380.00 to $390.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $335.84 and last traded at $333.26. 25,166,059 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 31,299,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.93.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alphabet from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total value of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 222,409 shares of company stock valued at $68,564,532. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: a new price target raise to $390 and recent upgrades/reaffirmations (Raymond James upgrade; RBC and Needham buy/reaffirmations) support upside expectations for GOOGL. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $390.00 RBC Remains Its Buy Rating Needham & Company Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem validation: Alphabet’s VC arm co‑invested in Synthesia’s $200M round at a $4B valuation, underscoring continued AI dealflow and strategic bets that support long‑term growth narratives. Nvidia and Alphabet VC arms back AI startup Synthesia at $4 billion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Pelosi portfolio moves: disclosures show sales of tech shares followed by purchases of long‑dated call options (LEAPS), a leveraged re‑routing rather than a clear exit from Big Tech — signals for long‑term conviction but introduce short‑term noise. Pelosi’s Bullish 2026 Buy List: AI, Power & Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Nasdaq futures were softer ahead of this week’s Fed decision and several Magnificent Seven earnings, creating a potentially choppy near‑term market backdrop for GOOGL. Nasdaq futures in the red ahead of big week, with Fed call, Mag 7 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Sundar Pichai sold roughly $10.6M of Alphabet shares ahead of earnings, which can be interpreted as a cautionary or tax‑planning move and may weigh on sentiment in the short term. Sundar Pichai Offloads Alphabet Shares Worth $10.6M Ahead of February 4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/privacy headwind: Alphabet has agreed to a preliminary $68M settlement in a class action alleging Google Assistant spying on users; while modest vs. Alphabet’s size, it is a reputational and regulatory risk to monitor. Google Agrees to Settle Class Action Lawsuit Targeting Voice Assistant

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 17,667.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,640,000 after buying an additional 15,159,273 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 51.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,607,232,000 after acquiring an additional 10,843,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.