Alphabet Receives 'Market Perform' Rating from JMP Securities

On January 12th, 2025, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) had its "market perform" rating reaffirmed by JMP Securities in a recently published research note, as reported by Benzinga.

Multiple other investment analysts have also assessed the stock. For instance, Wells Fargo & Company adjusted their price target for Alphabet shares, increasing it from $182.00 to $187.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating on October 30th. Additionally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price from $180.00 to $185.00 and also assigned a "market perform" rating. On the same day, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating, setting a price target of $190.00 for Alphabet shares.

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" on October 29th. Evercore ISI also revised their price target for Alphabet, increasing it from $200.00 to $205.00, complementing this with an "outperform" rating on October 30th. Overall, nine analysts have issued a hold rating on the stock, whereas thirty have given it a buy rating, and four have declared it a strong buy. As per MarketBeat.com, Alphabet enjoys a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price average of $207.08.

Stock Performance

On Friday, Alphabet's stock opened at $192.04. The company has experienced a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a high of $201.42. Alphabet's financial ratios show a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95, and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion with a PE ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35, and a beta of 0.98.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report released on October 29th, Alphabet reported earnings of $2.12 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The company achieved a return on equity of 31.66% with a net margin of 27.74%. For this quarter, Alphabet generated revenue of $88.27 billion, significantly higher than the expected $72.85 billion. In the same quarter of the previous year, Alphabet's earnings were $1.55 per share. Analysts predict that Alphabet will deliver 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions

In related news, company Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares on October 14th at an average price of $164.95, amounting to a total transaction value of $247,425. Following this sale, he holds 26,324 shares valued at approximately $4.34 million, marking a 5.39% reduction in his ownership. In another transaction on November 4th, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares at an average price of $171.06, resulting in a total value of $75,437.46. She now owns 16,490 shares, worth about $2.82 million, which reflects a decrease of 2.60% in her ownership position. Overall, insiders have sold 155,887 shares valued over $27.99 million in the last quarter, and approximately 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Activities

Several large investors have recently adjusted their positions in GOOGL. Graypoint LLC increased its stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, owning 64,918 shares worth $12.29 million after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN also raised their stake by 2.4%, now holding 31,272 shares valued at $5.92 million after a purchase of 738 shares. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its position by 3.1%, now possessing 12,229 shares worth $2.31 million after acquiring 373 shares. On the other hand, HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted their holdings by 20.3%, now owning 33,155 shares worth $6.28 million after purchasing 5,602 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC increased their holding in Alphabet by 2.3%, now owning 9,135 shares valued at $1.73 million. Currently, institutional and hedge funds hold about 40.03% of Alphabet's stock.Alphabet, Rating, Investors