JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target to $180.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.28% from the stock’s previous close.

GOOGL has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Westpark Capital raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.10.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.65. 16,285,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,752,527. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.82.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during 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.