Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 1.3% Following Insider Selling

by · The Markets Daily

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) shares were down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $333.05 and last traded at $335.02. 21,008,448 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 31,479,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.35.

Specifically, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $420.19.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on GOOGL

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its AI product portfolio with Google Pics, an image creation and editing tool for Workspace customers and premium AI subscribers. The launch could support subscription revenue and strengthen Google’s position in productivity software. Google Pics launch
  • Positive Sentiment: Waymo began offering paid driverless rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, expanding its commercial robotaxi operations to 14 U.S. cities. The rollout provides Alphabet with a broader path to long-term growth beyond advertising and cloud computing. Waymo robotaxi expansion
  • Positive Sentiment: Management said AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion monthly users, while advertising revenue reportedly reached $82 billion. Investors may view the usage scale as evidence that Alphabet can eventually monetize generative AI without displacing its core business. Alphabet AI Overviews and advertising
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s valuation and Google Cloud growth, with several firms maintaining buy or outperform ratings. A 396-megawatt geothermal power agreement with Fervo Energy also supports efforts to secure electricity for energy-intensive AI data centers. Alphabet valuation and cloud growth Fervo geothermal agreement
  • Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet reportedly cannot build AI capacity quickly enough, while rival Anthropic has secured substantial power capacity. The developments highlight robust demand for AI services but also raise questions about infrastructure availability and competitive positioning. Alphabet AI capacity constraints
  • Negative Sentiment: Analysts warned that OpenAI’s rapidly growing advertising business could challenge Google Search, Alphabet’s largest profit engine. Meta is also viewed as a potential search competitor, increasing concerns about future traffic, pricing power and ad growth. OpenAI advertising threat to Google Search
  • Negative Sentiment: EU regulators are asking publishers about Google’s proposed AI-search opt-out, while recent European concessions and a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement reinforce concerns that regulation could limit search economics or increase costs. EU review of Google AI search opt-out
  • Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s enormous AI capital expenditures, possible margin pressure and reports of employee departures. The stock’s recent weakness reflects uncertainty over whether AI revenue will scale fast enough to justify the spending. Big Tech AI capital spending

Alphabet Stock Down 1.3%

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 stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $349.41 and its 200 day moving average is $342.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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.

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