Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 3.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shot up 3.2% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $294.40 and last traded at $287.30. 31,488,229 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 20,751,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.27.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet shares participated in a broad rally following the U.S. midterm elections, providing a near-term boost after the recent selloff. Alphabet Stock Jumps as Midterm Election Rally Lifts Google Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI and cloud businesses continue to show growth potential: the company cited strong AI-driven cloud demand and expanding TPU sales, while Anthropic’s large commitments support demand for Google infrastructure. Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Growth and Spending Pressures
• Neutral Sentiment: Google plans to invest $15 billion in Malaysia over 2027–2028 to expand data-center and AI capacity. The buildout could capture regional demand, but adds to already substantial infrastructure spending. Google to Invest $15 Billion in Malaysia
• Negative Sentiment: Google is facing criticism after telling schools that restricting certain AI features could also mean losing access to Search. Political backlash and the attention of alternative search providers raise reputational and potential regulatory concerns. Google Faces Backlash Over Search Access for Schools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about elevated AI infrastructure costs and cash flow. Recent results included an earnings miss, while the earnings-call coverage highlighted rising costs; a shareholder securities lawsuit also alleges misleading disclosures about Gemini development. Alphabet’s Free Cash Flow Is Declining Faster Than Analysts Expected

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Citic Securities upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial set a $410.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.38.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $333.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.89). The company had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.80 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 4.59%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 190,923,442 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $67,458,980,000 after acquiring an additional 5,208,690 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Alphabet by 22.9% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 21,922,379 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,288,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,083,758 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,313,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,117,460,000 after buying an additional 913,666 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,209,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,080,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,432,287 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent organization of Google. Founded in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, online services, communications, artificial intelligence, and other emerging areas.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, digital advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Workspace. The company also provides cloud computing, data storage, cybersecurity, productivity, and artificial intelligence services through Google Cloud.