Alphabet’s Overweight Rating Maintained at Barclays

Barclays analysts reaffirmed their Overweight rating on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock with a price target of $200. The analysts highlighted significant advancements in AI, particularly multi-modal products running efficiently on a single neural network with low latency, showcasing potential future trends.

The analysts noted that the introduction of effective voice inputs and voice/text/image outputs might encourage healthier technology usage, reducing prolonged screen time and extensive text input in favor of quick, actionable interactions. While the technology demonstrated by OpenAI (GPT-4) and Google's Project Astra is not yet ready for widespread use—requiring a smartphone upgrade cycle and other refinements—it remains highly promising. This technology could become mainstream as iOS and Android integrate AI capabilities into phones.

The analysts observed that despite the rise of new products like ChatGPT and smaller competitors such as Perplexity gaining substantial user bases, there is no significant evidence of Google losing web search query share. They suggested that AI products might complement existing services or are still too nascent to have a major impact.

Looking ahead, the analysts expect concerns about AI cannibalizing Google's core search business to intensify in the second half of 2024. This will likely be driven by new developments, including Apple potentially launching Siri 2.0 with OpenAI-powered capabilities and the emergence of more AI products from established companies like META.