Stifel analyst Whit Mayo raised the price target on Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to $3,500.00 (from $3,200.00) after the company reported another strong quarter with 4Q revenue and operating income ~4% ahead of Street estimates. GAAP operating margin rose to 29%, 90bps ahead of expectations despite adding ~6,500 employees.

The analyst reiterated a Buy rating, stating "Looking to 2022, we are raising our Google Services
estimates as the company is expected to continue benefiting from broad-based advertiser
strength and healthy consumer activity online. Management's outlook calls for a strong pace
of hiring, ramping Cloud investments, and a meaningful increase in CapEx during 2022. While
we expect elevated investment will limit margin expansion versus 2021, we raise our margin
expectations for the full year as ongoing revenue outperformance largely offsets incremental
investments. We are raising our PT to $3,500 and remain Buy rated as the company continues
to drive growth at scale, generate impressive FCF, and return value through ongoing share
repurchases."