Top Analyst Upgrades Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) to Buy and Lifts Price Target to $320. Here’s Why
Alphabet (GOOGL) stock has been gaining momentum since Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), led by Warren Buffett, revealed a new $4.3 billion stake. Now, adding to that strength, Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy, citing better progress in AI, search, and cloud. The analyst also raised the price target to $320 from $260, implying more than 12% upside.
Meet Your ETF AI Analyst
Sanderson is a five-star analyst on TipRanks, ranking #306 out of 10,123 analysts tracked. He has a 59% success rate and an impressive average return per rating of 16.60%.
Why the Analyst Upgraded Alphabet to Buy
Sanderson said earlier concerns about AI hurting Google Search have eased. Many investors worried that chatbots would replace search, but the latest numbers showed the opposite. Search revenue grew 15% in Q3, the strongest growth since the post-COVID period. Sanderson said new AI features like AI Overviews are keeping users engaged and driving more usage.
He also pointed to strong growth in Gemini, Google’s AI assistant. Usage has climbed to more than 650 million users, and Sanderson said traffic has increased sharply in recent months, showing rising interest from both consumers and developers.
Cloud Strength Supports the Bullish Call
Another key factor behind the upgrade is Google Cloud. Demand from companies building and training AI models continues to rise, and Google has landed several large enterprise deals. The cloud backlog has more than doubled over the last five quarters, giving better visibility on future revenue.
He added that Google’s in-house TPU chips are also becoming a selling point. These chips help lower computing costs for AI customers and make Google Cloud more competitive.
Are Google Shares a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Alphabet stock based on 31 Buys and seven Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average Alphabet price target of $312.50 per share indicates 9.93% possible upside from current levels.
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