Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Now Covered by Analysts at Westpark Capital

Research analysts at Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock. Westpark Capital’s target price indicates a potential upside of 34.42% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.65.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $156.23 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet has a 1 year low of $148.20 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,992 shares of company stock valued at $16,093,773. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,843,149,000 after acquiring an additional 264,962 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $505,000. Atom Investors LP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.9% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 16,517 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 9.6% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,247,845 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $375,864,000 after purchasing an additional 51,045 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.