Alphabet Inc (GOOG)

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Alphabet Jumps as Analysts Lift Price Targets After Blowout Quarter
By: TheStreet | April 28, 2021

• Alphabet surges after the Google parent and YouTube owner reports results that smash Wall Street forecasts, prompting a raft of price-target upgrades.

Alphabet (GOOGL) shares jumped on Wednesday after the Google parent and YouTube owner reported first-quarter results that handily beat expectations, prompting a raft of Wall Street analysts to lift their one-year price targets on the stock.

Alphabet on Tuesday reported earnings of $17.93 billion, or $26.29 a share, compared with earnings of $6.84 billion, or $9.87 a share, a year ago. Revenue totaled $55.31 billion, up from $44.16 billion a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting earnings of $15.81 a share on revenue of $51.5 billion.

Wall Street was essentially unanimous in its praise of the numbers, with a number of firms boosting their one-year price targets.

Barclays analysts reiterated their call of Alphabet being among their favorite names in the mega-cap tech space, noting the outlook for its shares remains “bright.” The firm held its overweight rating though raised its price target to $3,000 from $2,500.

Analysts at Evercore ISI called Alphabet’s results “robust,” noting revenue, earnings and operating income all topped expectations. They also held their outperform rating and raised their price target to $2,825 from $2,525.

BMO Capital Markets had a more forward-looking assessment, noting that upcoming announcements should continue to drive growth and revenue expectations, particularly on the advertising side of Alphabet’s business. They too held their outperform rating and raised their price target to $2,700 from $2,600.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley, meantime, pointed to Alphabet’s better-than-expected search revenue, which they said shows the company’s strong position at the top of the e-commerce funnel. They held their overweight rating and raised their price target to $2,575 from $2,350.

Jeffries was the only Wall Street firm with a slightly negative post-earnings tone, saying that while Alphabet has shown “impressive” growth acceleration, its cloud beat was “less impressive.” The firm held its buy rating and increased its price target to $2,850 from $2,700.

Earlier this month, Alphabet was added to Wedbush's "Best Ideas List" by an analyst who took over coverage of the company with an outperform rating.

At last check, shares of Alphabet were up 4.33% at $2,390.10. The stock has risen more than 30% year to date.

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