JMP Securities Reiterates Market Outperform Rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $200.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target points to a potential upside of 23.66% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GOOGL. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.08.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $161.74. 8,010,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,579,904. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.17. Alphabet has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,590,960. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $115,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,590,960. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 180,867 shares of company stock worth $29,878,106. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $787,000. New Hampshire Trust raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 58.4% in the first quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,803 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.