Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Lowered to $361.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price target cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $397.00 to $361.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 22.54% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Alphabet from $279.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective (up from $346.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.33.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $294.61. 4,155,616 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,976,148. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $310.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.97.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971 over the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 17,667.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Alphabet by 855.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after buying an additional 13,004,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during 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 last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Alphabet to $397, citing growing opportunities to monetize Google Cloud — a catalyst for upside if Cloud revenue and margin expansion continue. Wells Fargo raises PT on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy on Alphabet with a $400 price target — another vote of confidence from the sell‑side that supports investor optimism. Needham Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Veo 3.1 Lite, a lower‑cost AI video model aimed at broader developer adoption — a product move that can expand AI-related revenue and developer usage at scale. Google unveils cheaper AI video model
• Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish analyst notes and upgrades (including coverage noting buying opportunities after the market pullback) have helped lift sentiment toward GOOGL among institutional investors. Bullish analyst upgrades amid exec sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary (calls that tech valuations look attractive and that mega‑caps are a defensive growth play) is supporting flows into Alphabet, but these are market‑wide dynamics rather than GOOGL‑specific catalysts. Tech valuations look attractive
• Negative Sentiment: Semianalysis CEO Dylan Patel warned that Alphabet’s free cash flow could fall to “basically zero” next year because of heavy AI capex — a high‑impact concern if sustained spending materially erodes free cash flow and capital returns. Semianalysis CEO: FCF hit zero next year
• Negative Sentiment: EU hospitality groups have urged regulators to review how Google applies the DMA’s Article 6(5), raising the risk of regulatory intervention around search rankings and potential remedies that could affect ad/search economics in Europe. EU groups raise concerns over search rankings
• Negative Sentiment: Over 200 child‑development experts urged Google to block AI‑generated videos targeting children on YouTube/YouTube Kids — a reputational and regulatory headache that could force content‑moderation changes and increase moderation costs. Experts urge ban on AI videos for children
• Negative Sentiment: Billionaire Ray Dalio reportedly trimmed his Alphabet position — a high‑profile sale that can signal caution to some investors even if it doesn’t change the company’s fundamentals. Ray Dalio reduces position

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.