The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $208.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $217.00 to $208.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GOOGL. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $165.16 on Monday. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. The firm had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,310,204.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $114,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,264,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.35, for a total value of $3,652,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,182,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,310,204.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 220,426 shares of company stock valued at $35,993,340. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.