Alphabet Enters a Bull Market: Is It Time to Buy?
Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) are officially back in bull market territory, having surged more than 25% off their 52-week low and reclaimed the key 200-day simple moving average (SMA). While geopolitical tensions, such as Israel’s recent strike on Iran and escalating fears of a broader conflict, have weighed on markets this morning, with GOOGL down around 2% in pre-market trading at the time of writing, the bigger picture suggests the stock may be staging a durable turnaround.
Despite broader market weakness, Alphabet has been a clear outperformer. Coming into Friday, GOOGL was up nearly 10% on the month, handily outpacing the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) and the tech-focused SPDR Technology ETF (NYSEARCA: XLK), which were each up just over 4% in the same period.
With momentum building, is now the time for investors to take a serious look at Alphabet?
Morgan Stanley Sees Continued Upside and Leadership
On June 11, Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating and $185 price target for Alphabet, citing the company's steady leadership in AI and a potential growth catalyst from its reported partnership with OpenAI through Google Cloud. Analysts believe that this collaboration could further enhance Google Cloud’s competitiveness in the enterprise space and drive substantial revenue growth in the expanding cloud market.
Morgan Stanley isn’t alone in their bullish assessment of the company. In total, GOOGL has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy based on 40 analyst ratings. Impressively, the consensus price target of $199.75 implies a potential 13.69% upside for the stock.
Alphabet Remains a Leader, But Some Headwinds Persist
Alphabet continues to assert its dominance across the digital landscape, even as artificial intelligence disrupts traditional search and advertising models. At the recent Google I/O 2025 conference, the company showcased its latest Gemini AI models, reaffirming its commitment to staying a leading player in the AI revolution.
JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and $195 price target following the event, highlighting Alphabet’s AI innovations and growing monetization capabilities.
Google Search remains the undisputed leader, holding the lion's share of the U.S. market. Despite the emergence of new AI-powered search tools, Google’s vast infrastructure and integration across the Android ecosystem and Chrome browser keep it deeply embedded in users’ lives. Its AI Overviews feature now reaches more than 1.5 billion users across 140 countries.
It is monetized similarly to traditional search, proof that Alphabet is scaling AI profitably, not just experimenting with it.
Beyond search, the company’s diversified portfolio is thriving. YouTube generated $10.47 billion in ad revenue during the last quarter, driven by robust user engagement and increasing subscriptions. Google Cloud continues gaining traction, particularly among enterprises adopting its AI-powered tools.
Meanwhile, Waymo is expanding its autonomous driving presence to over 10 U.S. cities, offering long-term upside as self-driving technology continues to mature.
Still, Alphabet faces meaningful headwinds. Its search dominance could come under pressure if Apple opts to replace Google as the default engine on Safari and Siri, potentially favoring AI alternatives like Perplexity or ChatGPT. Amazon and Meta also continue to chip away at ad budgets, and emerging AI-native platforms threaten to bypass traditional search entirely.
With ongoing antitrust scrutiny and tightening global privacy regulations, it's clear that Alphabet must continue to innovate aggressively to maintain its leadership position.
Technical Setup Points to an Attractive Entry
From a technical perspective, GOOGL has reclaimed all major moving averages, suggesting a strengthening uptrend. The 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), currently near $171, now serves as a potential support level. A pullback to this area, which finds support and forms a higher low, could offer a compelling entry point for long-term investors.
Valuation-wise, GOOGL remains attractively priced.
The stock’s 10-year average P/E ratio is near 28, yet it currently trades at a P/E of 19.5 and 17.3 times its forward earnings. For investors who believe Alphabet will continue to grow its revenues and profits and even outperform expectations, the stock still appears to offer considerable value.
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