Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $387.00 to $397.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 41.35% from the company’s current price.

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $280.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $349.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $314.18 and its 200-day moving average is $294.34.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 in the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,625,595,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,944,208,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (roughly ~42% above recent levels), a show of Wall Street conviction that can support upside once sentiment stabilizes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI traction — Gemini engagement gains and research (TurboQuant/compression work) that could reduce LLM memory needs — underpins growth in Search, Cloud and developer/API adoption, supporting revenue and margin prospects. These AI developments are cited as drivers of upside. Read More. • Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group nudged up Alphabet’s FY2026–FY2027 EPS estimates, signaling rising analyst earnings expectations that can underpin valuations longer term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat and other outlets note the stock has pulled back from February highs (~16–20% down), with technical support zones and a still-strong long-term fundamental case—this frames today’s weakness as a correction rather than a structural breakdown for some investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major near-term catalyst of the selloff: a Los Angeles jury found YouTube (Google) liable in a social-media addiction case and ordered compensatory damages (~$3M), a verdict that raises legal and reputational risk and has prompted commentary about broader industry liability and potential future suits/settlements. This ruling is the clearest downward pressure on the stock today. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/headcount risk: Google’s top India counsel recently resigned amid ongoing regulatory challenges in a key growth market, adding uncertainty around local regulatory strategy and execution. Read More.

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.