Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% on Tuesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $225.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $195.40 and last traded at $195.15. 7,573,527 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 24,000,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.81.
A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GOOGL. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.82.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Alphabet
In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total transaction of $234,331.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,516,745.58. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 122,887 shares of company stock worth $22,470,464. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Denver PWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
The stock has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock's 50-day moving average is $186.79 and its 200-day moving average is $173.61.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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.
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