This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares rose about 1.5% on Tuesday after Citi raised its price target on the technology company and lifted first-quarter estimates, pointing to healthy demand across search advertising and cloud services.
Analyst Ronald Josey increased the price target to $405 from $390 while reiterating a Buy rating. He said the firm now expects first-quarter results, due April 29, to come in above consensus forecasts for both revenue and profitability.
Citi projects search revenue growth of 16.5% from a year earlier for the period. Cloud division sales are forecast to expand 57.5%, aided by broader integration of Gemini artificial intelligence features across Alphabet’s product lineup.
Josey also noted several upcoming industry events that may provide additional momentum for the stock, including Google Cloud Next in late April and the Google I/O developer conference in May.
Capital expenditures for the full year 2026 are expected to be concentrated in the second half. Shares of Alphabet have gained ground in recent sessions amid broader strength in technology names.
