JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating restated by equities research analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $17.26 on Wednesday, hitting $189.12. 32,877,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,173,271. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.40. Alphabet has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,765,168.06. This represents a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,029 shares of company stock worth $18,462,883. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently 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.