Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) analyst Ken Gawrelski apparently took Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Friday, February 20 rally as a sign it was time to alter the previously-neutral rating for the technology giant’s equity.
Specifically, the Wall Street expert elected to raise his recommendation for GOOGL shares from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ on Monday, February 23, while simultaneously raising his 12-month price target from $353 to $387.
With Google stock trading at $315 following a 0.05% decline year-to-date (YTD) and a 5-day rally of 5.67%, Gawrelski’s one-year forecast means GOOGL is now expected to rally 22.86%.
Reflecting on the change, the Wells Fargo analyst focused on the expectation that Alphabet will increase its capacity from 15GW to 35GW by 2028, outpacing the growth of its competitors and boosting its own position among artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure providers.
Additionally, Gawrelski estimates that Google could see significant growth from Gemini’s subscriptions and corporate partnerships, making the firm’s growth potential overall exceptionally strong.
Wall Street sets Google stock price target for next 12 months
Wells Fargo’s latest rating and price target revision has brought the firm’s outlook for Alphabet stock in line with the wider Wall Street consensus. Indeed, Google shares are generally seen as a ‘Strong Buy’ based on the notes issued in the last three months.
Simultaneously, the average Wall Street price target for GOOGL stock stands at $382.81, per the data Finbold retrieved from TopRanks on Monday, February 23.
Why Google stock rally in 2026 is not guaranteed
Despite the positivity among institutional analysts and Google’s continued dominant position in the technology sector, there remain several critical risk factors for investors to consider.
Google’s February rally accompanied the broader stock market and came as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump’s tariff policy since taking office has been illegal.
Generally, investors welcomed the decision since the new duties imposed by the White House have been unpredictable and often disruptive. The risk therein lies in the fact that the President has broad powers regarding tariffs and can still pursue his previous policy even if the use of the 1977 powers has been ruled unconstitutional.
For his part, the billionaire politician has voiced his displeasure at the ruling and announced his intent to continue pursuing the policy.
Similarly, the focus on AI and AI infrastructure is itself a growing risk, as OpenAI’s internal documents forecast a $14 billion loss in 2026, thus demonstrating that the path to profitability for the sector remains fraught.
Google’s case is not bolstered by the fact that its increasing capacity is intended to power cloud computing – itself a high-risk play since it depends on demand that does not organically exist at press time and on hardware with a rather short shelf life.
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