Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Climb 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $346.58 and last traded at $344.18. 18,604,109 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 30,474,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.59.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and Cloud catalysts remain intact. Google launched TorchTPU as an open-source PyTorch project, potentially making it easier for developers to use Alphabet’s custom AI chips instead of Nvidia GPUs. Analysts also expect Google Cloud growth and TPU demand to support a modest earnings beat when Alphabet reports on October 28. Google joins Amazon in challenging Nvidia with AI developers
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo is expanding. Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit reportedly plans to increase its fleet to approximately 20,000 vehicles and launch autonomous ride-hailing in Madrid next year, strengthening the longer-term growth narrative beyond advertising. Waymo to launch autonomous ride-hailing in Madrid
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising demand could benefit YouTube. TikTok is shifting some advertising spending to YouTube, Pinterest and mobile-app networks after losing access to Meta’s advertising platform in certain markets. TikTok shifts advertising to YouTube
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is broadly favorable. BMO raised its Alphabet price target to $480, while other analysts continue to cite strong growth, valuation and balance-sheet strength. However, these views have not fully offset broader pressure on AI and mega-cap technology stocks.
• Negative Sentiment: Google Cloud’s outage created reputational and regulatory concerns. Disruptions affected U.K. banks and other online services, and the Bank of England is investigating the incident. Although services were largely restored, the event highlights operational and concentration risks in Alphabet’s cloud business. Bank of England investigates Google outage
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities-fraud class action. The litigation alleges Alphabet misrepresented the development timeline for its Gemini 3.5 Pro model before a subsequent stock decline. The December 1 lead-plaintiff deadline keeps the issue in focus, although the allegations have not been proven. Alphabet securities-fraud lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: AI-market volatility is weighing on sentiment. Concerns about AI financing, capital spending and monetization have pressured the broader group, while investors remain focused on whether Cloud growth and TPU sales can translate into stronger profits.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $379.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $350.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.34.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $343.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 402,479 shares of company stock valued at $7,946,534. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Premier Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.