Here's Why Alphabet Stock Popped Today

Google owner Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) stock rose by 3.6% by 3 p.m. today. The move comes as Wall Street is getting excited about the company's upcoming third-quarter earnings, due Wednesday after the closing bell.

JPMorgan Chase upgrades Alphabet

The market listens when Wall Street companies raise price targets on stocks, particularly when it's coming from an analyst at a heavyweight like JPMorgan Chase. As such, the analyst's reiteration of a "buy" recommendation and a price target hike to $300 from a previous target of $260 helped lift the stock today.

In addition, the reasoning behind the new price target will please investors. Not only does the analyst see the recent result from a search antitrust case raised by the Department of Justice as removing a risk overhang (Alphabet will not have to sell Chrome, and may continue to pay to preload products, such as being the default search engine on Apple products), but the analyst also sees Google leveraging its strength in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve YouTube advertising revenue and Google Cloud growth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Where next for Alphabet?

The company is a cash-generating juggernaut, and YouTube ads and Google Cloud, in particular, are fast-growing businesses that are becoming increasingly important to the company. Suppose the analyst is right that AI will accelerate growth at Google Cloud. In that case, it's reasonable to expect Alphabet to hike capital spending on data centers -- something the rest of the market will be watching closely when management reports on the third quarter on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.