Alphabet rises as Evercore lifts target to $450 on search

Alphabet shares gained in premarket trading on 18 September 2026 after Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney raised his price objective on the company to $450 from $420.

Evercore cited survey data showing that 78% of respondents selected Google as their preferred search engine in August, up from a low of 70% recorded in 2024 and early 2025. Mahaney noted that search leadership improved over the past year, which led him to raise Google search revenue projections through 2028. His sales and operating income estimates for 2028 now stand 4% to 5% above the Wall Street consensus.

The company also gained support from a 16 September court ruling that stopped short of requiring a divestiture of its ad-tech unit. The court instead ordered Google to adjust its advertising tactics and submit to monitoring for six years. Meanwhile, Tigress Financial also boosted its price target on Alphabet to $485 from $415.