Investments keep its outlook bright

Article Excerpt

Alphabet’s class A shares have soared 287% since we first recommended the stock as a buy in our August 2011 issue at $303.50 (adjusted for stock splits). That growth is fuelled by advertisers, who continue to move their spending online to better target prospective customers. The company’s success (Google now control 70% of the global Internet search market) has prompted calls for greater regulation of its activities. This might lead to the spinoff of businesses like YouTube and Android. That only adds to Alphabet’s appeal. However, greater regulatory scrutiny is indeed coming, and the company will aim to avoid anything with even the appearance of anti-competitive behaviour. Meantime, ongoing investments in its operations should continue to spur gains. ALPHABET INC. (Nasdaq symbols GOOG $1,171 [class C: non-voting] and GOOGL $1,174 [class A: one vote per share]; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 693.4 million; Market cap: $812.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.abc.xyz) is the parent company of Google’s…