Alphabet Shares Gain Following Annual Developer Conference: What's Going On?

Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG shares are on the rise, trading up by 1.81% to $173.16 on Thursday afternoon. Thursday’s strength is likely a result of the tech giant’s annual developer conference this week, where it revealed the Veo 3 upgrade to its AI video generation tool.

The conference also saw Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, announce the launch of a new “AI Mode,” a feature that offers a conversational, chatbot-style experience similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This update, which is now available for U.S. users across Search and Chrome, signifies Google’s aggressive push into generative AI.

What To Know: The annual I/O developer conference showcased Alphabet’s commitment to AI, with the unveiling of several new offerings. These include the AI Ultra Plan at $249.99 per month, Project Mariner for browser automation and Deep Think, a high-level reasoning AI.

Read Also: Big Tax Cuts, Big Deficits: Wall Street Winners And Losers Emerge

Despite concerns about potential cannibalization of ad revenue, analysts from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs reiterated bullish outlooks, citing Alphabet’s leadership in AI and faster product rollout.

Why It Matters: Alphabet’s AI-centric upgrades, such as Gemini 2.5, real-time translation and media creation, highlight its long-term vision for AI. With AI now at the heart of its ecosystem, Alphabet is well-positioned to maintain its dominance in the Search sector.

Analysts from Citizens, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs offered their insights on Alphabet’s new products and features. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone maintained a Market Perform rating on Alphabet with no price target.

JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock with a $195 price target, while Goldman Sachs’ Eric Sheridan reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $200 price target.

Read Also: Palantir Stock Is Trading Higher Thursday: What’s Going On?

Boone noted that the I/O conference demonstrated how AI is enhancing every aspect of Google and improving the company’s digital consumer experience. However, he also expressed concern about increasing competition for search and the U.S. search anti-trust trial’s impact on Alphabet.

Anmuth, on the other hand, felt “incrementally positive” about Alphabet after the Google I/O conference. He pointed out that Google’s product innovation is “accelerating” and new products and experiences are being launched faster than ever.

Sheridan highlighted the acceleration in AI innovation demonstrated in the company’s I/O keynote. He believes Alphabet is a leader in the AI and machine learning space and is well-positioned across many end-markets.

Read Next: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Could Be $3.1 Trillion Jackpot For Affluent Americans Like Elon Musk And Jeff Bezos: Report

How To Buy GOOGL Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Alphabet – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, GOOGL has a 52-week high of $207.05 and a 52-week low of $140.53.

Photo: Shutterstock