Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price dropped 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $338.59 and last traded at $340.70. Approximately 25,506,715 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 21,154,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.90.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo raised $16 billion and is now valued near $126 billion, supporting Alphabet’s roadmap to monetize autonomous driving and adding a large non‑ad growth narrative. Waymo valued at $126 billion in latest financing
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud landed a multi‑year, Europe‑wide deal with Liberty Global to deploy Gemini models — a signal of recurring cloud revenue and AI monetization traction. Google Cloud, Liberty Global strike five-year AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report Alphabet plans a major India expansion (large office leasing in Bengaluru), reinforcing long‑term growth capacity in a key market. Alphabet plans major India expansion as US tightens visa rules
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets (median ~$348; several firms >$360–$400) plus recent fund additions support bullish sentiment into earnings. Top Mizuho Analyst Raises Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Price Target Ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet reports Q4 results after the close (Feb 4); options markets expect a sizable move — earnings could drive volatility in either direction depending on ad monetization and Cloud/AI metrics. Here’s How Much Alphabet Stock Is Expected to Move After Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/customer wins (e.g., Humana using Google Cloud’s AI Agent Assist) validate commercial demand but are incremental to top‑line expectations. Humana Unveils AI-Powered Agent Assist Built With Google Cloud
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling and several institutional reductions in recent 13F filings raise short‑term concern about profit‑taking ahead of earnings. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Opinions on Upcoming Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo faces regulatory/safety scrutiny (upcoming Senate testimony after incidents), which could raise political/regulatory risk and affect investor sentiment toward the autonomous unit and parent. Waymo to defend self-driving safety record, warn on China competition
• Negative Sentiment: Several asset managers trimmed GOOG/GOOGL exposure in recent filings (Alecta, Provident, Fifth Third, STRS Ohio examples), signaling some profit‑taking and rotation risk ahead of earnings. Fund Update: Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Just Disclosed New Holdings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $321.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total transaction of $10,383,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,272,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $725,942,020.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,069,531 shares of company stock worth $104,158,826 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,160,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,272,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $900,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,542,000 after buying an additional 42,028 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.