<div id="readability-page-1">Institutional ownership often serves as one of the clearest signals of conviction in a company’s long-term prospects. When the world’s most prominent hedge funds, asset managers, and pension funds allocate billions into a stock, they aren’t chasing short-term moves; they’re making a bet on enduring growth and stability. Few companies exemplify this better right now than tech giant Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL. Despite a stretch earlier this year when the tech giant lagged the broader market and peers like Microsoft and NVIDIA, institutions not only held firm but doubled down. Regulatory and legal challenges, competitive pressures in AI, and questions around growth weighed on sentiment for much of the first half of 2025. Yet throughout that period, institutional investors continued to see value in Alphabet’s fundamentals, buying aggressively into weakness. Now, with sentiment shifting and recent catalysts reigniting momentum and new all-time highs, that conviction is paying off. <h2>Institutions Went Shopping in Alphabet</h2> The scale of institutional activity around Alphabet over the past year has been nothing short of staggering. Over the last 12 months, institutions purchased a massive $126.6 billion worth of Alphabet stock. In that same period, just $57.5 billion was sold, leaving a net inflow of roughly $69 billion. That kind of buying power underscores not only confidence but also a clear signal that the smart money viewed Alphabet’s weakness as an opportunity. Much of this activity came during the company’s most challenging stretch in years. Through Q1 and Q2, Alphabet faced heightened regulatory pressure, ongoing scrutiny of its advertising dominance, and rising concerns about competition in AI search and cloud services. Meanwhile, the stock significantly underperformed both the Nasdaq and fellow megacap peers. Yet for institutions, these headwinds were exactly the conditions to build positions. Valuations had dipped to historically attractive levels, with Alphabet trading at a P/E ratio well below its long-term average. To the biggest buyers on Wall Street, that combination of strong fundamentals and compressed multiples looked irresistible. <h2>Prominent Names Behind the Buying</h2> Among the most notable buyers was Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square fund, which expanded its Alphabet stake considerably in Q2. Pershing now owns 6.3 million shares of Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOG stock and 5.36 million shares of GOOGL stock, boosting its GOOGL position by more than 20% over the prior quarter. Together, the Alphabet positions account for nearly 15% of Pershing’s portfolio, a massive vote of confidence in Alphabet’s long-term trajectory. Other hedge fund heavyweights have followed suit. Billionaire investor John Paulson added 9,000 shares of Alphabet in Q2 through his firm Paulson &amp; Co., further underscoring the appetite among top-tier managers. Bridgewater Associates executed one of the more eye-catching moves, increasing its stake in GOOGL by 84% during the second quarter. That lift brought its total position to 5.6 million shares, representing nearly 4% of its portfolio. For a fund as diversified as Bridgewater, that’s a significant weighting. <h2>Catalysts Turning the Tide</h2> Alphabet’s most recent earnings report reinforced the company’s core strengths, with cloud revenue growth reaccelerating and advertising continuing to deliver resilient results. Just as significantly, a significant legal overhang has now cleared. A judge’s recent antitrust ruling not only eased fears of a potential breakup around Google’s Chrome browser but also framed Alphabet as better positioned than initially feared to navigate competitive and legal threats. Those developments have helped re-rate the stock in recent weeks. Analysts have steadily lifted their outlooks, with the average price target climbing from $199.75 three months ago to $221.44 as of Sept. 9. With the company now moving from laggard to leader and momentum returning to the stock, the institutions that built positions during Alphabet’s slump are seeing their patience rewarded.<h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Alphabet Right Now?</h2>Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here </div>

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Over the past year, institutional investors purchased $126.6 billion in Alphabet stock, resulting in a net inflow of $69 billion despite regulatory challenges. Notable investors like Bill Ackman and John Paulson increased their stakes significantly, reflecting confidence in Alphabet's long-term growth. Recent earnings reports and a favorable antitrust ruling have improved sentiment, leading to a rise in stock price targets. Analysts currently rate Alphabet as a Moderate Buy, but some suggest other stocks may be better investments.

- Institutional ownership signals confidence in a company's long-term prospects, with significant investments in Alphabet despite challenges in 2025.  
- Over the past year, institutions purchased $126.6 billion of Alphabet stock, resulting in a net inflow of approximately $69 billion, indicating strong belief in its fundamentals.  
- Recent positive earnings and a favorable legal ruling have shifted sentiment, leading analysts to raise their price targets for Alphabet, rewarding patient institutional investors.  

Alphabet Stock’s Weakness Was Wall Street’s Opportunity