Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were up 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $165.58 and last traded at $165.10. Approximately 5,382,241 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 26,772,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Scotiabank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $161.95 and its 200-day moving average is $168.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total transaction of $3,652,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,310,204.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock worth $35,993,340. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.