Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares shot up 1.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $369.00 and last traded at $367.46. 28,175,731 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average session volume of 21,199,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.10.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud and AI narrative remains strong, with coverage highlighting accelerating Google Cloud momentum, AI spending that is improving the bull case, and HSBC’s new multi-year Google Cloud AI deal, which reinforces demand for Alphabet’s enterprise AI services.
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it nearly tripled its Alphabet stake, lifting the position to roughly $16.6 billion, a bullish signal that may boost investor confidence in GOOG’s long-term value.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit is expanding monetization efforts by trialing a premium subscription for its robotaxi service, suggesting a path to higher future revenue from autonomous driving. Alphabet (GOOGL) Trials Premium Subscription for Waymo Robotaxi Service
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Alphabet as an attractive AI and cloud stock versus peers, but these pieces were largely valuation and strategy commentary rather than new fundamentals. Snowflake vs Alphabet: Which Cloud Analytics Stock Has an Edge Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo recalled about 3,800 robotaxis after a software issue caused vehicles to enter closed construction zones, renewing safety questions around Alphabet’s autonomous driving business and potentially creating near-term investor caution. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones, NHTSA says
• Negative Sentiment: Google also lost a key AI leader, Noam Shazeer, to OpenAI, underscoring intensifying talent competition in generative AI and raising concern that Alphabet may be vulnerable in the AI race. Google’s Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet continues to face regulatory pressure in the U.K., where watchdogs ordered more transparency in Google Search rankings, adding to broader antitrust scrutiny.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.5%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $361.98 and its 200-day moving average is $330.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% in the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.