Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $400.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Arete Research increased their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.06.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $274.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.62. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $349.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises reinforce bullish medium-term views — Wells Fargo raised its price target and kept an Overweight rating, and Needham reaffirmed its Buy with a $400 target; MarketBeat and other outlets note heavy analyst upgrading of GOOGL. These moves support upside expectations despite short-term weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI innovation (TurboQuant / Gemini traction) is being framed as a competitive advantage — the company’s new compression research and Gemini adoption could lower AI operating costs and drive product differentiation, strengthening long-term revenue prospects. This is part of why some analysts lifted estimates and price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: recent earnings beat, robust cloud growth and advertising resilience provide a valuation anchor and a reason many institutions view pullbacks as buying opportunities. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical correction — the stock has moved below $300 and broken key short-term support, which can amplify volatility even if the longer-term trend stays intact; investors should watch $280–$260 support zones. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive departure in India: Google’s top India counsel resigned amid ongoing regulatory challenges in a key market, a factor to monitor for regional regulatory execution but not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark jury verdicts finding YouTube/Google liable in social-media addiction cases have created legal overhang and the possibility of broader litigation or regulatory exposure — courts and commentators compare potential fallout to past “Big Tobacco”-style settlements, increasing perceived legal risk for Alphabet. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: New lawsuits allege Google’s search/AI features disclosed personal information of Jeffrey Epstein victims; such privacy/AI-related claims add another legal/regulatory headline that can pressure sentiment and increase potential litigation costs or product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech selloff — geopolitical war worries and landmark Meta legal losses have sparked rotation out of large-cap tech this week, amplifying Alphabet’s decline despite company-specific strengths. Market risk sentiment is a near-term headwind. Read More.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.