Alphabet (GOOGL) Drops 7% Amid Legal Setback — Wells Fargo Projects 41% Rally Ahead

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Google’s parent company saw shares decline 3.4% on Thursday, settling at $280.92 — marking the weakest closing price since mid-November 2025 following a jury verdict in an addiction-related case
Shares extended losses on Friday with an additional 1.2% drop to $277.70, bringing the weekly decline beyond 7%
Financial services firm Wells Fargo boosted its valuation target for Alphabet from $387 to $397 while keeping its Overweight stance
The firm’s optimism stems from tensor processing unit chip deals with Anthropic and the massive $32 billion Wiz cybersecurity acquisition
Wells Fargo’s Ken Gawrelski stated the tech giant “has all the pieces necessary to be an AI winner”

Google’s parent company experienced a significant Thursday downturn of 3.4%, with shares closing at $280.92 — representing the weakest finish since November 14, 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The descent continued into Friday with an additional 1.2% slide to $277.70.

Alphabet Inc., GOOGL

The Thursday selloff followed a courtroom decision where a jury found Google’s YouTube platform and Meta liable in litigation filed by a plaintiff alleging the platforms engineered addictive features. The jury awarded $6 million in damages. Meta’s stock plummeted nearly 8% Thursday and continued downward with a 1.5% Friday decline to $539.20.

The week’s trading activity positions Alphabet for a weekly retreat exceeding 7%.

Yet amid the downturn, Wells Fargo issued an optimistic assessment Friday morning. The investment bank elevated its valuation target for Alphabet to $397 from the previous $387, maintaining its Overweight designation. This revised target suggests potential appreciation of 41% from Thursday’s closing level.

Investment Bank Highlights Emerging Revenue Opportunities

Analyst Ken Gawrelski authored the research note, stating that the search giant is “leveraging its compute capacity advantage to develop new profit pools.”

The Wells Fargo team highlighted two strategic initiatives. First, Google’s decision to license its proprietary tensor processing unit technology — TPUs — to artificial intelligence company Anthropic. Second, Alphabet’s substantial $32 billion all-cash purchase of Wiz, a cloud security provider, which finalized on March 11.

Wells Fargo projects the TPU licensing arrangement will contribute 4% to Google Cloud Platform revenues in 2026, expanding to 7% by 2027. From an operating income perspective, the bank anticipates a 6% enhancement in 2026 and 14% in 2027. The Wiz transaction is expected to deliver substantial additional contributions.

Gawrelski noted he’s “more comfortable with Google’s competitive position in search, given progress with AI mode and Gemini adoption.”

Financial Firm: Google Has Complete Arsenal for AI Dominance

Wells Fargo’s research team made a stronger assertion, declaring Alphabet “has all the pieces necessary to be an AI winner.”

This represents a bold endorsement considering the competitive challenges Google Search has encountered from artificial intelligence-driven alternatives throughout the past year.

Alphabet’s equity is currently trading more than 17% below its 52-week peak. According to Wells Fargo’s analysis, the present valuation represents a considerable markdown relative to the bank’s assessment of intrinsic value.

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