Google-parent Alphabet hit a market capitalization of $3 trillion for the first time on Monday, riding on renewed optimism around artificial intelligence and a favorable antitrust ruling.
Class A shares of the company $(GOOGL)$ were up 4.74% at $252.22, while Class C shares climbed 4.5% to $252.3 - both trading at record highs.
Alphabet joined companies including iPhone maker Apple and Microsoft that have also clinched valuations of $3 trillion. AI-leader Nvidia has crossed the $4 trillion mark.
Earlier Monday, Citigroup Inc. analyst analyst Ron Josey boosted his price target on the the stock to $280 from $225, citing “an accelerated product development cycle that is beginning to emerge with greater Gemini adoption across both its Ads and Cloud businesses.”
Josey added that this comes amid “amid greater clarity around its legal and regulatory challenges in what we believe is a relatively healthy online advertising market.”
Despite competition facing the company’s Search business, “we believe Google is executing better across its halo of products, experiencing greater demand, & delivering improved profitability,” he wrote in a note to clients.
The latest boost for the Google-parent was a ruling by a U.S. federal judge that allowed the company to retain control of its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system, marking a pivotal moment for the tech giant whose dominance in search and mobile ecosystems has long drawn scrutiny.
Investor sentiment also got a lift after the company's cloud-computing unit delivered an almost 32% jump in second- quarter revenue, surpassing expectations as investments in in-house chips and the Gemini AI model began to pay off.
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