Analysts at
J.P. Morgan
named
Alphabet,
the parent company of Google, one of their top picks for 2024.
They lifted their target for the stock price to $160 from $150. Alphabet shares were up 0.2% to $132.82 in early trading.
J.P. Morgan cited better advertising growth, increasing profit margins, and advances in the new Gemini Ultra artificial intelligence product as reasons to expect bigger gains in the price. Google had been seen as possibly falling behind on generative AI after
Microsoft
integrated ChatGPT with its search engine Bing earlier this year.
“While still early, we believe Gemini Ultra represents significant innovation and should start to close the Gen AI gap as it rolls out in early ‘24,” analysts led by Doug Anmuth wrote in their Internet 2024 Outlook published Wednesday. They maintained their Overweight rating on the stock.
Google announced three versions of Gemini last week, with the most powerful version expected to launch early next year.
There are still risks for the stock, though. The company lost a lawsuit filed by videogame developer Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, that might force it to open up or reduce fees for its Google Play app store.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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