Short Interest in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Increases By 20.1%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 50,030,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the November 30th total of 41,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $192.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.47. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $202.88.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Pivotal Research lifted 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.56.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.07, for a total value of $3,759,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,129,306 shares in the company, valued at $355,743,153.42. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,088 shares of company stock worth $28,232,156. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd 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 period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.