Alphabet price target boosted after legal win

Wall Street analysts moved quickly to raise price targets on Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) after a US District Court issued a broadly favorable ruling on antitrust remedies, with both Wedbush and Oppenheimer framing the decision as a decisive win for the company.

Wedbush said the Department of Justice’s case “folded like a cheap suit,” lifting its price target to $245 from $205 while reiterating an ‘Outperform’ rating.

The firm argued that the outcome eliminates the threat of worst-case structural remedies, strengthening confidence in Google’s search business and supporting a re-rating relative to peers.

“We are increasingly constructive in the longer-term durability of Google’s Search business and are raising our estimates accordingly,” Wedbush wrote, adding that the stock continues to trade at a discount to Meta.

Oppenheimer struck a similar tone, calling the ruling “the best case outcome” and raising its target to $270 from $235, also with an ‘Outperform’ rating.

“Most importantly, Alphabet will not divest Chrome/Android and can continue to pay Apple for Search users,” the analysts wrote. ‘

While Google must end exclusivity with Apple, Oppenheimer noted that its survey data suggests 75% of iPhone users would still choose Google Search, meaning any loss of exclusivity could be offset by lower traffic acquisition costs.

The firm now values Alphabet at 25x 2026 EPS, compared with the Nasdaq’s 26x and large-cap tech peers at roughly 30x.

The court’s decision rejected the DOJ’s most severe proposals, sparing Google from having to spin off Chrome or Android, introduce mandatory choice screens, or share advertising data.

However, Google will face restrictions on exclusive contracts, limits on revenue share deals to one year, and new requirements to share certain search index data with qualified competitors.

Wedbush said the ruling clears away a lingering regulatory risk and allows investor focus to shift back to Google’s positioning in AI and cloud.

Oppenheimer agreed, noting that “remedy fears kept many investors from becoming more bullish on AI progress—those barriers are now removed.”

Shares of Alphabet added 8.6% at about $230 on Wednesday afternoon.