In a significant legal development, Google's parent company, Alphabet (GOOGL), has been determined to have illegally monopolized certain segments of the online advertising technology market. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google violated antitrust laws specifically within the markets for advertising exchanges and ad servers, which are crucial for websites to sell advertising space.
The ruling, however, noted that while Google holds a strong position in these areas, it does not meet the criteria of a monopoly in the third market involved—tools utilized by advertisers when purchasing display ads. This distinction offers some relief to the tech giant amidst broader regulatory scrutiny.
Following the announcement of this judgment, Alphabet’s stock experienced a decline, trading down 2% to $150.54. Conversely, shares of Trade Desk (TTD), a competitor in ad tech, rose 2% to $49.51, marking a positive market response to the ruling.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 17 analysts, the average target price for Alphabet Inc (GOOG, Financial) is $207.59 with a high estimate of $234.00 and a low estimate of $173.00. The average target implies an upside of 36.22% from the current price of $152.39. More detailed estimate data can be found on the Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 22 brokerage firms, Alphabet Inc's (GOOG, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 1.8, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Alphabet Inc (GOOG, Financial) in one year is $196.02, suggesting a upside of 28.63% from the current price of $152.39. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Summary page.
