Cantor Fitzgerald Sees Alphabet's AI Edge Fueling Further Gains After a Banner 2025

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) capped off 2025 with a strong performance, climbing 65% as investors cheered enhancements to its AI platform, Gemini. Cantor Fitzgerald recently upgraded its rating on the tech giant, projecting that the stock has even more gas in the tank.

Deepak Mathivanan, the analyst behind the upgrade, raised the price target from $310 to $370, signaling a 15% potential upside. He argues that Alphabet's premium valuation makes sense given its accelerating top-line momentum and top-tier AI technology stack.

What sets Alphabet apart, according to Mathivanan, is its Gemini assistant app backed by proprietary "grounding" assets. This edge places it ahead of rivals like ChatGPT, which rely on Bing and external integrations. The analyst points to Alphabet's broad, multi-layered AI footprint as a significant competitive moat built over a decade.

Beyond AI, the search engine giant is seeing growing query volumes thanks to deeper AI integration - a direct boost to advertising revenue. Meanwhile, the cloud business is poised for further expansion as applications increasingly adopt agentic AI features, aligning with Google's standards for AI-driven enterprises.

The analyst also notes a softening regulatory backdrop, which could ease some of Alphabet's previous headwinds. This shift may provide additional comfort to investors eyeing the company's next phase of growth.

Shares responded positively, nudging up more than 1% after the upgrade hit screens. While last year's surge was explosive, Mathivanan's view suggests Alphabet's blend of innovation and scale can sustain its premium valuation.

Investors will keep a close eye on how Gemini evolves and whether it can outpace competitors in the AI race. Alphabet's mix of AI-driven search improvements and cloud potential creates an interesting dynamic to watch amid a still-shifting tech landscape.

With a $370 price target now in play, the question remains: can Alphabet keep the momentum rolling, or has much of the upside already been baked into the stock price?