Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.6% - Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $197.07 and last traded at $196.83. 5,411,985 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 15,832,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $2.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total transaction of $234,331.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,516,745.58. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.