Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. CICC Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $419.86.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $319.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $362.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $187.82 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 20,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,329,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 18,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Lee Kelleher & Klein Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Finally, Buska Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q2 results showed strong underlying demand, including an 82% surge in Google Cloud revenue and continued growth in Search and YouTube, reinforcing that its core businesses are still expanding. Google Cloud CEO Kurian says customers are spending 50% more as segment blows away expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Barclays argued that a TPU-as-a-service offering could materially lift Alphabet’s long-term profitability, suggesting the market may be underestimating future AI monetization. TPU-As-A-Service could boost Google’s 2028 profit by over 15%: Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a more than $1 billion dark-fiber deal to support Google’s data centers, underscoring ongoing infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s AI and cloud expansion. Verizon signs deal with Google worth over $1 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet was included in a momentum screen highlighting stocks with strong earnings and favorable price trends, which is supportive but not a major stock-specific catalyst. 3 High-Momentum Stocks to Buy Now Before They Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this does not appear to be a major driver of the move.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried that Alphabet’s AI spending is becoming too large, with the company increasing 2026 capex guidance and reporting negative free cash flow for the first time in years. Alphabet earnings takeaways: Q2 revenue beats, GOOGL stock sinks on 2026 capex hike
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced fresh regulatory pressure after the European Commission fined Google about $1 billion under the Digital Markets Act. Google hit with $1 billion EU fine, first under landmark rules
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo reportedly may try to end its partnership with Uber, which could create uncertainty around one of Alphabet’s autonomous-driving distribution channels. Waymo reportedly mulling a breakup with Uber

Alphabet Company Profile

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.