Axiom's Victor Anthony Raises Alphabet Price Target To $1,001

• Shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL have appreciated 43.39 percent over the past one year, to a high of $793.96 on December 29.
• Axiom’s Victor Anthony has maintained a Buy rating on the company, while raising the price target to $1.00.
• The company reported robust 4Q results, with accelerated revenue growth, which management attributed to YouTube and mobile search.

Analyst Victor Anthony mentioned that Alphabet reported 24 percent year on year net revenue growth for 4Q, up from 21 percent in 3Q15 and ahead of the consensus, although in-line with the estimate.

The Non-GAAP EPS came in meaningfully ahead of both the consensus and the estimate. Anthony stated that these results “confirm numerous checks throughout the quarter suggesting that search growth accelerated in 4Q, leading us to increase our estimates twice in the quarter.”

Google websites saw 20.2 percent growth, driven by 40 percent growth in paid clicks. The company also bought back 2.4 million shares worth $1.8 billion during the quarter.

Non-GAAP net operating margin growth for core Google, at 46.5 percent for 2015, underlined the enhanced profitability of Alphabet’s core business, with adjusted EBITDA margins expanding 193 bps in 2015.

“CFO Ruth Porat noted that revenue growth at core Google is the primary focus with an eye on rigorous expense management, suggesting that margins are likely to continue to expand,” according to the Axiom report.