Insider Insights: Alphabet CEO Sells GOOG Stock. Panic or Pounce?
Google and YouTube parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) had a rough start when it entered into the artificial intelligence chatbot wars with Bard. Today, however, the GOOG stock outlook looks great, as Alphabet has a new AI chatbot with a subscription plan.
Plus, Alphabet’s deal with a well-known social-media business could prove to be a win-win for both companies. Still, some investors may be concerned about an insider’s Alphabet stock sale and the company’s layoffs. So, let’s tackle those topics head-on right now.
How Much GOOG Stock Did the CEO Sell?
Here’s the rundown. Reportedly, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 GOOG/GOOGL stock shares on Feb. 7. Furthermore, Pichai has sold 90,000 Alphabet shares during the past year and hasn’t purchased any shares of his company.
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There’s no easy way to determine why the CEO sold these Alphabet shares. It doesn’t necessarily indicate a loss of confidence in the company. Sometimes, corporate insiders simply choose to take profits or adjust their portfolios.
I wouldn’t worry about Pichai’s share sale, nor would I lose sleep over YouTube layoffs. Reportedly, YouTube reduced its workforce by 100 in mid-January. Since YouTube has 7,173 employees globally, a reduction of 100 workers shouldn’t disrupt the company.
It’s important to pay attention to these developments, but they shouldn’t be deal-breakers for investors. A more significant news item is Alphabet’s new advertising deal with Pinterest (NYSE:PINS).
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready explained, “This partnership will focus on monetizing several of our currently unmonetized international markets by enabling ads to be served on Pinterest via Google’s Ad Manager.” Clearly, Ready wants to explore monetization opportunities outside of U.S. borders for Pinterest. This deal could prove to be a steady revenue source for Alphabet.
Alphabet’s Latest Move in the AI Chatbot Wars
Bard wasn’t a major success for Alphabet in the early stages of the AI chatbot wars. However, the story has a new chapter as Gemini is replacing Bard and there’s even an advanced version called Gemini Advanced.
For $19.95 per month, U.S. customers can get access to Gemini Advanced and its powerful Ultra 1.0 AI model. They’ll also get two terabytes of Google Cloud storage with their Google One AI Premium plan (that’s the plan they’ll need to get access to Gemini Advanced).
On top of that, U.S. customers will reportedly soon have access to Gemini in Gmail and in Google’s productivity suite. This sounds like a potential game-changer as Alphabet seeks to catch up to its rival, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which invested heavily in OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot technology.
GOOG Stock Outlook: Don’t Worry About the CEO’s Share Sale
Alphabet certainly isn’t just going to let Microsoft win the AI chatbot wars. Alphabet’s new deal with Pinterest presents an opportunity to generate substantial revenue.
So, there’s no need to worry about the Alphabet CEO’s share sale or the YouTube layoffs. In the grand scheme of things, these are really just blips on the radar. Investors should maintain an optimistic GOOG stock outlook and continue to build their share positions, slowly but with confidence.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
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