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On Wednesday, BofA Securities maintained a positive outlook for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), reiterating a Buy rating and a $225.00 price target on the tech giant’s shares. Currently trading at $206.38 and near its 52-week high of $207.05, the stock has shown remarkable momentum with a 44% return over the past year. The endorsement comes as Alphabet continues to show strong performance in its Search business, a trend that BofA Securities believes could be bolstered by the integration of AI technologies.InvestingPro analysis reveals multiple strengths in Alphabet’s financial profile, with 13 additional ProTips available for subscribers.
According to BofA Securities, there could be a general underestimation of the benefits that AI could bring to Search monetization by 2025. This optimism is supported by Alphabet’s strong revenue growth of 14.38% and impressive total revenue of $339.86 billion in the last twelve months. While acknowledging potential concerns around competitive pressures from other companies like Meta (NASDAQ:META) and OpenAI, and the impact of rising infrastructure costs on profit growth, the firm remains confident in the intrinsic value and growth prospects of Alphabet’s core search business.
BofA Securities highlighted the core search business’s valuation at 14 times in their sum of parts analysis, emphasizing its attractive valuation. The firm anticipates a 12-13% growth rate for the core search business, excluding foreign exchange impacts, by the year 2025.
Looking forward, BofA Securities pointed to upcoming AI-driven search products and the Cloud Next (LON:NXT) event scheduled for April 9, 2025, as potential catalysts that could further drive the stock’s performance. The firm’s stance remains firm with a reiteration to Buy and a maintained price objective of $225.00 for Alphabet stock.
In other recent news, Alphabet, parent company of Google, has seen its stock price target revised by several analyst firms. Goldman Sachs increased the target to $220, citing robust growth in Alphabet’s Search and YouTube segments, while Bernstein raised it to $210, expecting steady growth in Google Search and potential upside from other segments. Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and increased the price target to $225, reflecting a positive outlook on the company’s advertising trends and its positioning within the AI space.
In contrast, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) might face a formal antitrust investigation by Chinese regulators, according to a report by the Financial Times. The potential probe is part of a broader revival of antitrust investigations by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, which includes inquiries into other major US tech firms.
Furthermore, Alphabet’s Waymo has announced plans to expand its testing operations to 10 new cities by 2025, which has led to a decline in stock value for ride-hailing giants Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT). Waymo’s aggressive push into new markets signals a step closer to realizing a future where robotaxis could become mainstream. These are among the recent developments affecting these companies.
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