Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) 02 (Aug 17 - Dec 25)

[winston]

not vested

Stocks to Buy: Alphabet (GOOGL)

The future remains bright according to Morgan Stanley.

“As the dominant player in paid search, Google continues to benefit from secular growth as advertising dollars shift into digital,” the firm’s Brian Nowak (Track Record & Ratings) said.

Most notably, Google also owns YouTube, the leader in online video advertising. Indeed, Novak sees video advertising expanding nearly 25% from 2017 to 2020 to roughly $22 billion in the U.S. alone.

The Street shares this upbeat outlook. With a “strong buy” analyst consensus, the company’s $1,349 average price target speaks of 24% upside potential ahead.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet

The company (ticker: GOOG), which also owns YouTube, Android, and a cloud-computing business, has defied the law of large numbers. It continues to record quarterly revenue growth of 20% or more, despite a large annual sales base of more than $100 billion.

The stock, now about $1,062, looks reasonably priced at 23 times projected 2019 earnings of $47 a share. The price/earnings ratio overstates Alphabet’s valuation because the company sits on $102 billion of net cash, or about $145 a share.

And Alphabet is losing about $3 a share annually in its Other Bets businesses, which includes Waymo, the leader in autonomous vehicle technology. The losses in Other Bets do not capture the value in the segment. Waymo, which plans to start commercial service later this year, could be worth $50 billion or more, analysts estimate.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney calls Alphabet an “internet staple” supplanting traditional staples like Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG) that have been laggards in the past decade. He and other bullish analysts value the company at about $1,400.

Source: Barron's

[winston]

not vested

High-Quality Stocks Goldman Likes for 2019: Alphabet (GOOG)

High-Quality Attributes: $100 billion-plus in cash and less than $5 billion in debt. Stable earnings growth fundamentals as the backbone of digital search. Healthy long-term drivers through automated driving and AI. 16x cash flow, versus five-year median of 18x cash flow.

At the top of Goldman’s list of high-quality stocks to own in 2019 is internet giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG,NASDAQ:GOOGL). This pick makes a lot of sense. The financials supporting GOOG stock are clean and healthy. The balance sheet is loaded with cash and has very little debt. Cash flows are huge, and the cash flow multiple is below the five year median by a sizable margin. The valuation is reasonable.

Most importantly, the growth fundamentals underlying GOOG stock are stable. Alphabet is essentially the backbone of the modern internet. Through Google Chrome, Google Search, and Gmail, Alphabet is behind the world’s most used internet services.

An economic slowdown will dilute ad spend some, but it won’t dilute internet usage. As search, Google’s revenues and earnings should remain largely stable even amid slowing economic expansion.

Also, GOOG stock has healthy long-term drivers which will keep investors around during near-term turbulence. Through its self-driving unit Waymo, Alphabet is the leader in the automated driving space.

Moreover, thanks to the company’s robust digital search database, the company has all the resources it needs to be an AI leader.

Overall, GOOG stock has plenty of high quality attributes which should make this stock a relatively safe and defensive pick in 2019.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet Can Be Bought as It Survives Third Dip Into Bear Market

Buy Alphabet down to its bear market threshold of $1,033.00 for a rebound to my semiannual pivot at $1,101.14.

The first important indicator for Alphabet is to stay above the bear market threshold, which is a share price of $1,033.00.

Longer term, Alphabet should be a winning investment. Investors like their lines of business such as Google's cloud, hardware offerings, search and YouTube.

Baseball's 2019 World Series featured advertisements for the Google Pixel 3 phone, and the YouTube participation in the programming was a hit.

Given these charts and analysis, investors should buy weakness to the bear market threshold of $1,033.00, then to my annual value level of $966.02 and reduce holdings on strength to my semiannual pivot at $1,101.14 and to the 200-day SMA at $1,127.40.

Source: The Street

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/sto ... t-14814254

[winston]

not vested

Stock Picks for 2019: Alphabet (GOOGL)

Google Stock Is a Great Long-Term Investment, but Wait to Buy

Tech stocks may be going through a rough patch, but here’s one mega cap Goldman Sachs thinks is still worth buying for 2019.

Trading at ~11x 2019 EV/EBITDA, Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) valuation looks compelling, says Brent Thill (Track Record & Ratings) of Jefferies.

He picks GOOGL as his Franchise Pick, i.e., a high conviction stock. This is with a juicy $1,450 price target (37% upside potential).

So what justifies this bullish call?

“The Internet Team remains bullish on Alphabet due to continued expected mobile search growth and a positive stance on YouTube” explains Thill.

Online video is lining up as the biggest online ad growth driver — with GOOGL’s YouTube capable of driving meaningful upside by stealing ad budgets away from television.

Meanwhile, “mobile search has been the number one driver of revenue growth for the past several quarters and the team sees continued opportunity given the ubiquity of smartphones and the important location and contextual signals from mobile devices” writes Thill.

Plus, Alphabet also boasts its fast-growing Google Cloud, and a strong leadership position in both AI and autonomous vehicles. Its Waymo vehicles have driven many millions of miles on public roads more than peers.

Taking a step back, we can see that out of 31 analysts polled recently, 28 are bullish on the stock. This is with a $1,346 average price target (28% upside potential).

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

Google wins U.S. approval for new radar-based motion sensor

by David Shepardson

Project Soli

Google says the sensor can allow users to press an invisible button between the thumb and index fingers or a virtual dial that turns by rubbing a thumb against the index finger.

In a video on its website, Google said a user could operate a smart watch, scroll through music or adjust the volume by simply motioning using the system.

Google added that the radar signal could penetrate fabrics, enabling controls that could work in a pocket or a backpack.

The company says that “even though these controls are virtual, the interactions feel physical and responsive” as feedback is generated by the haptic sensation of fingers touching.

Google says the virtual tools can approximate the precision of natural human hand motion and the sensor can be embedded in wearables, phones, computers and vehicles.

Source: Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goog ... ess%201700

[winston]

Alphabet (ticker: GOOG, GOOGL)

Google parent company Alphabet is Kelley's top overall internet stock pick.

Kelley says new internet data regulations might actually help Google on a relative basis, as the tech giant has a size and resource advantage over its smaller competitors when it comes to adjusting to new rules.

He says Google still has at least two years of advertising revenue growth in the high teens, and emerging businesses such as Waymo and Google Cloud, should soon start to make meaningful contributions to overall revenue.

Nomura has a "buy" rating and $1,350 price target for GOOGL stock.

Source: US News

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet (GOOG)

Alongside Facebook, technology giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) struggled in 2019 as the ethics and mechanics behind its digital advertising business were called into question. GOOG stock dropped nearly 25% in late 2018.

It has been up, up and away ever since Christmas Eve. The core growth narrative here remains robust, thanks to continued strength in the digital advertising business.

Margins are starting to improve again. The nascent but rapidly growing cloud- and AI-related businesses are scaling nicely, and have tons of firepower left.

In the big picture, Alphabet is at the core of almost everything consumers do on the internet. As such, this company has second-to-none staying power in the digital economy, and the digital economy continues to rapidly expand globally. This means Alphabet will likely remain a 15-20% revenue grower with stable margins over the next several years.

That growth profile is undervalued in a stock with a 20X forward multiple. As such, GOOG stock is reasonably undervalued here, against the backdrop of a rising market. That combination will lead to GOOG stock rallying in 2019.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet (GOOG)

Alongside Facebook, technology giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) struggled in 2019 as the ethics and mechanics behind its digital advertising business were called into question. GOOG stock dropped nearly 25% in late 2018.

It has been up, up and away ever since Christmas Eve. The core growth narrative here remains robust, thanks to continued strength in the digital advertising business.

Margins are starting to improve again. The nascent but rapidly growing cloud- and AI-related businesses are scaling nicely, and have tons of firepower left.

In the big picture, Alphabet is at the core of almost everything consumers do on the internet. As such, this company has second-to-none staying power in the digital economy, and the digital economy continues to rapidly expand globally. This means Alphabet will likely remain a 15-20% revenue grower with stable margins over the next several years.

That growth profile is undervalued in a stock with a 20X forward multiple. As such, GOOG stock is reasonably undervalued here, against the backdrop of a rising market. That combination will lead to GOOG stock rallying in 2019.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Year-to-date gain: 17.25%

Fans and followers of the company will likely know that Google parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG) beat last quarter’s earnings estimate, posting $12.77 per share.

What got lost in the shuffle is how operating margains fell to 21 % from last quarter’s 24%.

Appreciated or not, Alphabet is a profit and revenue growth machine that has earned its spot on a list of “forever” stocks to buy.

It may not always beat estimates, but it does always increase its numbers. That’s because it keeps finding a way to serve as the middleman for about 70% of web searches done on desktops, and boasts being the preferred search engine for about 90% of the queries made via a mobile device.

If it was going to be toppled, we’d see evidence of it by now.

Source: Investor Place