Alphabet upgraded to Buy from Hold at Loop Capital

Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson upgraded Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $320, up from $260. The firm its concerns regarding the sustainability of the company’s search revenue growth under artificial intelligence cannibalization and transition risk is no longer a concern shared by investors. Google’s search results “remain as healthy as ever” while traffic share to Gemini has doubled year-over-year, and the position of Google Cloud and size of opportunity for its proprietary artificial intelligence processors “is becoming better appreciated,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Loop upgraded Alphabet after significantly raising its growth outlook for Google Cloud.