Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 9.4% After Earnings Beat

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) rose 9.4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $176.42 and last traded at $172.87. Approximately 26,842,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 22,242,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.95.

The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James raised their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $159.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,303,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,566,519.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 10.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.51.

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.