Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $340.85 and last traded at $339.08. Approximately 12,375,240 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 20,900,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.78.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI expansion remains the main bullish catalyst. WeatherNext 3 is being integrated into Search, Maps and Gemini, while new voice-driven Gemini features are rolling out in Gmail, Docs and Keep, creating potential for broader user engagement and monetization. Alphabet Just Gave Search, Maps and Gemini a New AI Advantage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is building around Google Cloud, AI services, hardware and long-term earnings growth. Wolfe Research named Alphabet a top pick for 2027, while other coverage highlights strong recent Cloud growth and a median price target well above current trading levels. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Strong Cloud Growth Prospects
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge declined to force a breakup of Google’s ad-technology business, reducing the most severe regulatory risk, although operational restrictions remain. The decision also supports Alphabet’s ability to retain its existing ad-tech infrastructure. Google Spared From Ad-Business Breakup
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s clean-energy partnerships, including Google-backed battery storage and geothermal projects, strengthen power availability for data centers but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Google’s New Energy Project Gives Eos Energy a Key Technology Validation
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Alphabet’s roughly $44.9 billion quarterly capital expenditure pushed free cash flow negative for the first time since its IPO. The spending may support future AI and Cloud returns, but it increases execution risk and weighs on near-term valuation. 3 Stocks Built for Higher Rates
• Negative Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected employment data lifted Treasury yields and reduced expectations for near-term rate cuts, pressuring large technology stocks. Alphabet also faces investor concern over delayed Gemini releases, ongoing ad-tech remedies, and shareholder securities-fraud investigations. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Alphabet

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $346.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.71. The company has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 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:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 30,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 45.5% during the second quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group raised its position in Alphabet by 20.0% during the second quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Kinetic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, Range Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Range Advisory LLC now owns 27,894 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.