Google Search, Waymo, Gemini: The Trio Behind Citizen’s Alphabet Price Target Hike

• Citizens analysts reevaluated their estimates and Alphabet’s valuation framework after the company’s stock edged lower earlier in the year.
• The firm expects Google Search’s revenue to further accelerate in the fourth quarter.
• It added that Google Search’s performance in Q4 will be the key question for the company’s stock in the near term.

Analysts at Citizens on Wednesday expressed optimism about Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) heading into 2026, hiking their price target for the company based on the strength in its key product, Search.

According to TheFly, Citizens hiked its price target for GOOGL to $385 from $340 while maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating. The firm’s new price target implies an upside of nearly 23% from the stock’s closing price on December 30.

Alphabet’s Class A shares were down nearly 1% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Strength In Search

Citizens analysts reevaluated their estimates and Alphabet’s valuation framework after the company’s stock edged lower earlier in the year. The firm cited the strength of Google’s crown jewel, Search, as the reason for its price target hike.

The firm expects Google Search’s revenue to further accelerate in the fourth quarter (Q4). For context, Google reported a 14.5% year-over-year increase in its Search revenue during the third quarter (Q3), rising to $56.6 billion from $49.4 billion during the same period a year ago.

The firm said that Google Search’s performance in Q4 will be the key question for the company’s stock in the near term.

Other Catalysts

Citizens added that besides Search, other catalysts for Alphabet in the medium term are the company’s autonomous driving technology unit Waymo, Google’s Gemini and Cloud units, and the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) business in 2026 and 2027.

Google and Meta Platforms Inc. (META) are reportedly in talks to use TPUs for the latter’s AI efforts as the former works to chip away at Nvidia Corp.’s (NVDA) dominance in the artificial intelligence sector.

Retail Confident Of Google’s Potential

One bullish user on Stocktwits said there is no limit to the benefits Google can provide to both humanity and shareholders, given the talent it has and the fields in which it can be applied.

Another user expressed optimism based on the GOOGL stock’s technical analysis.

GOOGL stock is up 66% year-to-date and 64% over the past 12 months.

Also See: Lululemon CEO Search Could Stall Amid Founder Chip Wilson’s Proxy Contest, Says Stifel

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