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Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has quietly transformed what began as a shaky start to 2025 into a full-blown comeback.
The stock lagged its Magnificent Seven peers early in the year, weighed down by regulatory fears and concerns that its dominance in search and advertising was wavering.
Those worries are fading, and with them, the bears. As Alphabet leaned into its AI prowess, cloud strength, and ad resilience, its shares surged, and momentum is now firmly back.
Bullish Momentum Returns to GOOGL
The stock is officially in the green year-to-date, up 6.18% as of Monday’s close, and has rocketed 32% in the past quarter alone, including an 11.5% jump this month alone.
Most importantly, Alphabet has reclaimed the $200 level, a psychological and technical resistance point that had held it back for six months. Now sitting just under 3% from its 52-week high, Alphabet is setting itself up for a fresh breakout into uncharted territory.
Technically, this is not an overbought sprint. Alphabet is still building its base, not blowing past resistance like many red-hot tech peers. The clean push through $200 after building weeks of momentum below it suggests more upside could be ahead, as long as the rally remains contained and measured.
Earnings Spark Most Recent Rally
Alphabet’s compelling Q2 2025 earnings, released on July 23, are at the heart of the rebound. Total revenue of $96.43 billion beat expectations and reflected a substantial 14% year-over-year gain. Earnings per share came in at $2.31, well above consensus and up 22% YOY.
Key growth came from advertising, cloud, and search. Google Cloud soared 32% to $13.62 billion, crossing the $50 billion annual run rate landmark.
YouTube ad revenue climbed 13%, and, perhaps most importantly, Google Search & Other grew 11.7%, well above the 8% expected, helping to quiet concerns about AI disrupting Alphabet’s core business.
These results weren’t ignored. Following the blowout quarter, a wave of analysts raised their price targets. Barclays lifted its target to $235 from $220, and JPMorgan increased it to $232 from $200. Multiple other firms followed suit.
Institutional money also started flowing back in. Cathie Wood’s ARKW recently added $35 million in Alphabet shares. Zooming out, over the previous twelve months, institutions have been busy buying shares of the tech giant. In total, $96 billion worth of GOOGL has been purchased versus $52 billion in outflows over the previous year.
Valuation and Entry Perspective
Despite the surge in momentum, GOOGL still looks reasonably priced. Its current P/E is around 21.4, and its forward P/E of 18.9 remains well below its historical standards. So even after a 32% quarterly move, Alphabet isn’t trading at a tech bubble multiple, making the risk-reward picture more compelling for disciplined investors.
For those anticipating more upside, a logical entry could be on a pullback toward key support zones near $190 or even $180, where resistance was overturned earlier in the year.
If Alphabet can reclaim a clean stair-step pattern above $200, reinforced by analyst upgrades and institutional faith, it could quietly morph into one of this year’s strongest major-cap tech stories.