Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Rating Lowered by Citizens Jmp

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on GOOGL. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.44.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $191.79 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This represents a 1.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 280.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.