‘Don't Overlook the Innovation Story,' Says Colin Sebastian About Alphabet Stock
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has long been the undisputed leader in internet search, but the rise of generative AI is beginning to raise questions about its continued dominance in the field.
Confident Investing Starts Here:
Against this backdrop, Baird's Colin Sebastian, an analyst ranked in the top 4% of Wall Street stock experts, attended the company's Google Marketing Live event and came away convinced that Alphabet is taking decisive steps to stay ahead of the curve.
'While there were 'breadcrumbs' that foreshadowed key announcements at Google Marketing Live, it's encouraging to witness the company innovating quickly in search, showing a commitment to monetization, and even taking aim at competitors in new ways,' the 5-star analyst said. 'While competition in search is intensifying, Google presented, in our view, a compelling suite of new ad products and agentic capabilities that can expand monetization and contribute incrementally to revenues.'
Google announced a deeper integration of AI into its core search advertising platform, including the expansion of ad placements within AI Overviews (AIO). This means that both search and shopping ads will now appear directly in AI-generated summaries on desktop browsers in the U.S. Additionally, the company is introducing ad formats specifically designed for AI Mode, tailored to fit the more conversational and context-aware nature of AI-powered search experiences.
'Importantly,' adds Sebastian, 'these newer formats should help expand search advertising and reach into middle- and upper-funnel consumer journeys, directly contradicting the bearish view that new AI formats will simply disintermediate core search.'
Sebastian thinks that advertisers will be quick to adopt these new ad formats, especially as Google has indicated that monetization tests are performing similarly to traditional search ads. Over time, the analyst believes these formats could lead to higher conversion rates for commerce and retail advertisers. In addition, advertisers running Performance Max and shopping campaigns will be able to access the new formats effortlessly. For users, the key will be Google's ability to match relevant ads with the context of longer, more detailed search queries, allowing users to find answers, including ad content, directly within the AI search experience without needing to scroll to traditional website links. As is typical for Google, the company is also introducing enhanced measurement and analytics tools, including new agentic capabilities to help marketers streamline and automate tasks.
'While many investors remain skeptical in our conversations,' notes Sebastian, 'Google also continues to report growth in queries where AI Overviews are shown, and Gen-Zers are the most active search cohorts.'
So, what's the bottom line for investors? Sebastian is backing Alphabet shares with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating and a $190 price target, implying a potential upside of 10% over the next year. (To watch Sebastian's track record, click here)
Wall Street at large is also bullish. GOOGL carries a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 29 Buy recommendations and 9 Holds. The average price target stands slightly higher at $199.14, suggesting the stock could climb ~15% in the coming months. (See GOOGL stock forecast)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
21 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Securities Fraud Investigation Into Neogen Corporation (NEOG) Continues – Investors Who Lost Money Urged To Contact The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz continues its investigation of Neogen Corporation ('Neogen' or the 'Company') (NASDAQ: NEOG) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. IF YOU ARE AN INVESTOR WHO LOST MONEY ON NEOGEN CORPORATION (NEOG), CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT POTENTIALLY PURSUING A CLAIM TO RECOVER YOUR LOSS. What Is The Investigation About? On June 4, 2025, Neogen disclosed that, while its fourth quarter fiscal 2025 financial results would be 'materially approximate [to] where [the Company] had put [its] guide,' it 'would expect EBITDA margin to probably be around the high-teens' compared to the previous quarter's 22%. The Company explained that EBITDA margins would likely 'be in the low-20s, if not for the elevated inventory write-offs.' On this news, Neogen's stock price fell $1.04, or 17.3%, to close at $4.96 per share on June 4, 2025, thereby injuring investors. Contact Us To Participate or Learn More: If you purchased Neogen securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact us: The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 800, Century City, California 90067 Call us at: 310-914-5007 Email us at: info@ Visit our website at: Follow us for updates on Twitter at If you inquire by email, please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Informa TechTarget and Salesloft Announce Strategic Partnership to Help Customers Grow Revenue Through Precise, Data-Driven Prospecting
Together, the companies help sellers engage with active buying groups showing demonstrated interest in and genuine need for their solutions. NEWTON, Mass. & ATLANTA, June 23, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TechTarget, Inc. ("Informa TechTarget") (Nasdaq: TTGT), global growth accelerator and leading provider of intent data and insights to the B2B technology sector, and Salesloft, a leading Revenue Orchestration Platform that helps B2B organizations drive durable revenue growth, today announced a partnership and integration designed to help mutual customers build and accelerate pipeline by efficiently identifying and effectively engaging prospects in an active buying journey. "While 85% of BDRs are laser-focused on outbound prospecting, many of them waste precious cycles pursuing cold contacts who aren't ready to buy. We help reps hit their pipeline targets by identifying buyers who are actively researching relevant solutions through their membership to our trusted editorial communities," said Jillian Coffin, Senior Vice President of Customer Enablement and Strategy, Informa TechTarget. "By automatically delivering these active, permissioned contacts into topically aligned Salesloft cadences, we help sellers engage the right people with the right message at the right time so they can convert more interest into opportunity." The new integration empowers sales teams to: Streamline workflows between Informa TechTarget and Salesloft to maximize sales efficiency Easily add Active Prospects from Informa TechTarget's Priority Engine intent data platform directly into relevant Salesloft cadences in seconds Automatically push Active Prospects to topically aligned Salesloft cadences each week "The combination of Informa TechTarget's active, permissioned contacts with Salesloft's engagement capabilities gives sales teams a meaningful advantage," said Lesley Renna, SVP of Alliances and Ecosystem at Salesloft. "This integration helps our joint customers drive higher productivity and conversion rates by automatically adding prospects in an active buying cycle to Salesloft Cadences tailored to the topics that matter most to them." Key benefits of this strategic partnership include: Precision targeting: Customers can leverage Informa TechTarget's person-level intent data to confidently focus sellers on in-market buyers and buying groups in their territory or ABM targets. Accelerated engagement: Informa TechTarget constantly monitors for new individuals beginning their research journey and automatically delivers these permissioned buyers to Salesloft, drastically reducing the time between intent signals and sales outreach. Higher conversion: With Informa TechTarget, sellers get visibility into the needs, pain points, and current topics of interest for each individual buyer so they can better personalize across every touchpoint, which helps them book more meetings and have meaningful conversations that convert. "The Add to SEP feature integration between Priority Engine and Salesloft is impressively intuitive. I love how new additions appear right at the top in Salesloft," said Theresa Woodiel, Director, ABM & Integrated Marketing at Deep Instinct. "The seamless workflow means our reps can instantly see and engage with their newest priority contacts. It's exactly the kind of straightforward, efficient solution our team needs." The Informa TechTarget-Salesloft integration is available now to current Priority Engine Sales subscribers at no additional cost. Customers must have both a Priority Engine Sales subscription and a Salesloft license to utilize the integration. To learn more, click here. About Informa TechTarget TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), which also refers to itself as Informa TechTarget, informs, influences and connects the world's technology buyers and sellers, helping accelerate growth from R&D to ROI. With a vast reach of over 220 highly targeted technology-specific websites and over 50 million permissioned first-party audience members, Informa TechTarget has a unique understanding of and insight into the technology market. Underpinned by those audiences and their data, we offer expert-led, data-driven, and digitally enabled services that have the potential to deliver significant impact and measurable outcomes to our clients: Trusted information that shapes the industry and informs investment Intelligence and advice that guides and influences strategy Advertising that grows reputation and establishes thought leadership Custom content that engages and prompts action Intent and demand generation that more precisely targets and converts Informa TechTarget is headquartered in Boston, MA and has offices in 19 global locations. For more information, visit and follow us on LinkedIn. About Salesloft Salesloft powers durable revenue growth for the world's most demanding companies. Salesloft's industry-leading Revenue Orchestration Platform uses purpose-built AI to help market-facing teams prioritize and take action on what matters most, from first touch to upsell and renewal. More than 5,000 customers including Google, 3M, IBM, Shopify, Square, and Cisco gain a performance force multiplier with Salesloft by shifting to a durable revenue engagement model, helping them solve the complexities of modern B2B sales and unlock revenue efficiency. © 2025 TechTarget, Inc d/b/a Informa TechTarget. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on Contacts Garrett MannVP of Corporate CommunicationsInforma Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Steve Jobs Once Cited Leonardo Da Vinci's Example To Explain Why All 'Major' Thinkers Had This Trait That Made Them Exceptional
Steve Jobs once argued the greatest innovators are "both the thinker and doer in one person," invoking Leonardo da Vinci to prove that creativity and execution rarely succeed apart. What Happened: Addressing engineers in the early 1990s, the Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) co-founder said, "The doers are the major thinkers. ... Did Leonardo have a guy off to the side thinking five years out what he would paint? Of course not. Leonardo was the artist, but he also mixed all his own paints." Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Jobs's point is that discovery flows from hands-on mastery. "It's very easy to take credit for thinking," he said. "Dig a little deeper and you find the people who really did it were also the people that worked through the hard intellectual problems as well."Veteran biographers note Jobs often cited Renaissance polymaths to justify Apple's marriage of hardware, software and It Matters: The thinker-doer thesis now frames a broader debate over when entrepreneurs hit their stride. Census Bureau data show founders aged 40-plus are likelier to build high-growth firms than their twenty-something peers, a pattern echoed by late-blooming icons such as Ray Kroc at McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) and Sam Walton at Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The gap reflects years spent 'doing,' honing skills and spotting problems first-hand before leaping to 'think' up solutions. Modern CEOs frequently echo Jobs. Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Elon Musk reposted the quote last year with a one-word endorsement: "True." Venture capitalist Paul Graham tells founders to "learn by building" because abstract ideation rarely survives first contact with users. For Jobs, that convergence of art and engineering remained Apple's guiding doctrine until his 2011 death. "There is no difference in our industry," he said. "The people that have really made the contributions have been the thinkers and the doers." Read Next: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Back a bold new approach to cancer treatment with high-growth potential. These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends Photo Courtesy: rnkadsgn on Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Steve Jobs Once Cited Leonardo Da Vinci's Example To Explain Why All 'Major' Thinkers Had This Trait That Made Them Exceptional originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
