UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $209.00 to $173.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.71.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $159.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $170.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,468,029.04. This trade represents a 13.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 5,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 35,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,511,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towneley Capital Management Inc DE bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% 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.