NowWire · AI-assisted reporting summary · September 22, 2026 UTC
Analyst Upgrades and Search Data
Alphabet shares rose in premarket trading after Evercore increased its price target to $450 from $420 and maintained a Buy rating, according to a GuruFocus report. Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney pointed to a proprietary search poll showing that 78% of respondents used Google as their primary search engine in August 2026, up from a low of 70% in 2024 and early 2025. Tigress Financial also raised its price objective for Alphabet to $485 from $415. [1]
Antitrust Ruling and Market Context
The stock received additional support from a recent federal antitrust verdict issued on September 16. A federal judge declined to order Google to sell its advertising technology business, though the ruling requires the company to modify its ad-bidding methods and implement an internal compliance monitor. Alphabet shares were trading around $355.59 in the premarket, compared to a 52-week high of $408.61. [1]
Sources
- Alphabet Stock Surges as Google Search Makes a Major Comeback — 2026-09-21T12:28:33Z