Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Cut to $190.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $205.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the information services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.74% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.17.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $6.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $157.36. The company had a trading volume of 38,914,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,699,473. Alphabet has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.17.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,159,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,565 shares of company stock worth $26,814,740. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.