Alphabet maintains its strong appeal

Article Excerpt

Dear client, Despite Alphabet’s strong revenue and earnings growth, the stock has risen just 4% since we named it our top Aggressive pick for 2016. The S&P 500 Index has jumped 16% in that time. Alphabet’s slower rise is partly due to its complex ownership structure, which insiders use to maintain control. As well, unlike other big tech companies, it has yet to tap into its vast cash balances to pay a dividend or fund a big share buyback plan. However, we feel the company has years of growth ahead. It continues to dominate the fast-growing field of online advertising and its strong cash flow from selling ads also lets it develop other businesses. They can eventually be spun off as profitable independent companies. ALPHABET INC. (Nasdaq symbols GOOG $761 [class C: nonvoting] and GOOGL $779 [class A: one vote per share]; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 689.2 million; Market cap: $536.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.2; No…