Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 7.8% – Here’s What Happened

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was down 7.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $189.91 and last traded at $191.46. Approximately 20,364,205 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 16,896,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,029 shares of company stock valued at $18,462,883. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $451,000. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 400,873 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $76,342,000 after buying an additional 2,531 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,455,000. Finally, Veridan Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $438,000. 27.26% of the stock is 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.