Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 2.6% – What’s Next?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 2.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $192.31 and last traded at $195.05. 13,639,157 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 23,304,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.82.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,029.04. This represents a 13.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,887 shares of company stock worth $22,470,464. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.