Alphabet, Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google responded that the proposed remedies were “staggering.”
BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz reiterated an Outperform rating on Alphabet and kept the price target at $217.
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth maintains Alphabet with an Overweight rating and raised the price target to $212.
Anmuth echoed similar sentiments regarding the “very comprehensive” set of remedies proposed by the DOJ.
The analyst also pointed to recent comments from President-elect Donald Trump expressing skepticism on a potential break-up of Google.
The Department of Justice announced its remedy requests on Wednesday in an effort to lessen Google’s hegemony in search results. The Alphabet Corporation. Google retorted that the suggested fixes were “staggering.”. Reactions from analysts are also being shared.
Alphabet’s analyst Brian Pitz of BMO Capital Markets maintained the price target at $217 and reaffirmed his Outperform rating.
Doug Anmuth, an analyst at JPMorgan, has increased the price target for Alphabet to $212 and keeps it at an Overweight rating.
Eric Sheridan, a Goldman Sachs analyst, kept the price target at $210 and maintained a Buy rating.
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Pitz called the DOJ’s broad remedies a “kitchen sink moment.”. Beyond Google’s search distribution agreements with Apple and Samsung, Pitz pointed out that the DOJ’s suggested remedies also cover the company’s investments in AI search.
Similar remarks were made by Anmuth about the DOJ’s “very comprehensive” list of remedies. He stated that some of the remedies are “more punitive than expected” and gave the examples of the syndication of search data and advertisements and restrictions on consumer choice.
Anmuth emphasized that the DOJ’s proposal ought to reflect Google’s worst-case situation. He anticipates that Google will offer far more modest final remedies.
The analyst from JPMorgan wrote, “In the end, we think the judge’s final decision next summer will be more balanced … and will probably have greater consideration around the potential negative impact to users.”.
Sheridan stated that the firm does not hold a position regarding the case’s possible outcome. However, he pointed out that the Trump administration’s arrival in January will bring a new leadership team to the US DOJ, which raises another possibility regarding the trial’s possible outcomes.
The analyst also cited recent remarks made by Donald Trump, the president-elect, in which he expressed doubt about a possible split of Google.
Trump stated in October that “if you do that, are you going to destroy the company? What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it’s more fair,” according to Reuters.
Price action: As of Friday’s publication, Alphabet shares are down 1 point 55 percent at $166.62, per Benzinga Pro.
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Picture: Pixabay user Simon.
