Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,150,436 shares, a growth of 34.8% from the November 30th total of 41,660,640 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 22,468,802 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 22,468,802 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.04.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Alphabet

Key Stores Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $184,914.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 210,987 shares of company stock valued at $59,551,040. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 60.0% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 121.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.0%

Alphabet stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $314.54. The stock had a trading volume of 10,809,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,577,662. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $328.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

About Alphabet

(Get Free Report)

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.

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