Alphabet (GOOGL) went public in August of 2004 at $54.16 per share. Today, a single share of GOOGL is worth $2,856. The stock is up 5,175.4% since hitting the market.

There is an ongoing debate about whether GOOGL should be broken up into several distinct businesses, similar to how President Reagan broke up Ma Bell back in the early 80s. However, President Biden has not indicated he will take such a drastic measure.

As of September of 2021, GOOGL's list of mergers and acquisitions totals a whopping 244. At the moment, GOOGL's android operating system is used on 73% of all smartphones. GOOGL is still the search engine king with a 94% market share of online searches. In short, there is a good argument to be made that GOOGL should be divided into several companies that compete with one another in the spirit of free enterprise.

If GOOGL is allowed to proceed with business as usual, it will continue to innovate and capture additional market share across an ever-growing number of tech segments. Let's look at whether GOOGL will reach the important psychological benchmark of $3,000 per share.

GOOGL Points of Note

GOOGL is the world's top tech trailblazer. The company started as a search engine specialist and cloud computing services provider. GOOGL has successfully broadened its business model to include online video, online ads, autonomous vehicles, gaming, software, social networking, and so much more.

GOOGL has a surprisingly low forward P/E ratio of 28.36 for a tech company. This ratio should pique your interest as an investor as GOOGL is a massive tech company with exponential growth potential. However, the stock is trading close to its 52-week high of $2,925.08. GOOGL's 52-week low is $1,402.15.

GOOGL's beta of 1.00 means it is as volatile as the market. The company posted 36% top-line growth in the prior year. All in all, GOOGL has a market cap of $1,925.98 billion.

GOOGL's POWR Ratings

GOOGL is a Buy thanks to its overall grade of B in the POWR Ratings system. The stock has B grades in the Quality and Sentiment components. Click here to find out how GOOGL fares in the rest of the POWR Ratings components, such as Stability, Growth, Momentum, and Stability.

It should come as no surprise that GOOGL is ranked in the top five of the Internet industry, slotting in at number three overall. For more top stocks in this industry, click here.

The Analysts' Take on GOOGL

GOOGL's average analyst price target has jumped an incredible $1,215.99 across the past 35 weeks. If GOOGL hits the average analyst target price of $3,135.42, it will have climbed 8.54%. In the past 15 months, GOOGL has had an average of 10.98% upside based on analyst price targets.

Of the 46 analysts who have issued GOOGL recommendations, 16 view it as a Strong Buy, 29 view it as a Buy, and one as a Hold. Prospective GOOGL investors will be happy to know zero analysts view the stock as a Sell or Strong Sell.

Is $3,000 an Attainable Benchmark for GOOGL?

GOOGL's ongoing streak of successful tech breakthroughs makes the stock as future-proof as it gets. However, as noted above, the potential for a government-enforced breakup will always loom overhead, especially if the United States' executive and legislative branches take a hard turn to the left due to the country's rapidly changing demographics.

GOOGL's year-over-year revenue comps have declined in merely two out of the prior 60 financial quarters. Add in the fact that GOOGL has a Buy rating in the POWR Ratings and investors have that much more reason to scoop up this tech monolith. Even retail investors with limited dry powder should seriously consider adding a fractional share of GOOGL to their portfolio. 

GOOGL shares were trading at $2,818.21 per share on Friday afternoon, down $53.99 (-1.88%). Year-to-date, GOOGL has gained 60.80%, versus a 19.01% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

Patrick Ryan has more than a dozen years of investing experience with a focus on information technology, consumer and entertainment sectors. In addition to working for StockNews, Patrick has also written for Wealth Authority and Fallon Wealth Management.

More...