Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GOOGL. New Street Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. DA Davidson set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upped their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $419.86.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $343.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $354.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.94. Alphabet has a twelve month low of $196.60 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98. Following the sale, the director owned 18,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 540,470 shares of company stock valued at $14,873,168. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said its Gemini app has surpassed one billion monthly active users, strengthening the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are gaining substantial consumer traction. Google’s Gemini app surges to one billion users
• Positive Sentiment: The Pixel 11 launch emphasized deeper Gemini integration across smartphones and the Pixel Watch, giving Alphabet additional avenues to distribute AI features and potentially support its hardware ecosystem. Google unveils Pixel 11 lineup
• Positive Sentiment: Ryanair signed a five-year Google Cloud partnership to deploy Gemini, DeepMind, Workspace, and Cloud services across its operations, providing evidence of enterprise demand for Alphabet’s AI products. Ryanair signs Google Cloud deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Google Cloud’s improving margins and Alphabet’s valuation as potential catalysts, while Alphabet’s disclosed SpaceX investment has generated an exceptionally large return.
• Neutral Sentiment: DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis reportedly discussed creating an AI-oversight body with other labs and U.S. officials. The initiative could improve industry governance but may also add compliance requirements. DeepMind’s Hassabis pitched AI-oversight body
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is reorganizing its AI leadership, placing Gemini, frontier research, and the Gemini app under new DeepMind chief Koray Kavukcuoglu. The move signals urgency but creates execution and retention risk. Google’s new AI boss inherits a race
• Negative Sentiment: Prediction-market odds for a general-public Gemini Pro launch by August 14 fell sharply to 4%, raising concerns that Alphabet’s next flagship model may be delayed. Traders slash odds on imminent Gemini Pro launch
• Negative Sentiment: Nvidia’s proposed financing framework for as much as $500 billion in AI infrastructure could strengthen Nvidia’s position in custom chips and intensify competition for Alphabet’s cloud and AI hardware businesses. Alphabet’s stock slips as Nvidia financing threatens custom chips
• Negative Sentiment: Google raised Pixel 11 prices by $100 amid higher memory costs, potentially limiting demand and pressuring hardware margins. Alphabet stock slides as Google hikes Pixel 11 prices
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet remains exposed to more than 3,000 youth-addiction lawsuits, while Australian and French publishers are pursuing actions over Google’s AI summaries and their impact on traffic and advertising revenue.

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.