12 Best Virtual Reality Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

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9. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Analyst Upside: 26.28%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 174

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a holding company with segments including Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment operates various services and products, including Android, Google Maps, Google Play, Chrome, Search, and YouTube. Its Google Cardboard application allows users to build immersive experiences of their own.

The company launched the Android XR platform at the end of 2024 in collaboration with Samsung and Qualcomm. The platform allows users to develop immersive, state-of-the-art experiences and indulge in them across various devices, ranging from headsets to glasses. In addition, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) recently announced plans to acquire a part of HTC’s extended reality (XR) business for $250 million, marking the second major deal between the companies after the $1.1 billion purchase of HTC’s smartphone unit in 2017. The acquisition is anticipated to further boost the company’s VR, AR, and XR business and the development of the Android XR platform development across headsets and glasses.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) also has sound operations. Fiscal Q4 2024 showed a 12% growth in overall revenue for the company and a 12.5% growth in search revenue. YouTube grew by 13.8%, while revenue from Google Cloud rose by around 30% to $12 billion.

Merion Road Capital Management stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): We have held GOOG for a long time (since 2018) on the basis of its immense business quality paired with an undemanding valuation, improving treatment of minority shareholders, and multiple options for value creation. Recently we have seen Alphabet bashed for losing the AI race to now heralded for its progress. I remain excited about their prospects with several near-term, mid-term, and long-term tailwinds. Near-term, Google Cloud continues its rapid growth and their latest large language model, Gemini 2.0, appears to have made significant progress to better serve consumer needs and improve GOOG’s other product offerings. Mid-term, Waymo is on the cusp of becoming a real value driver for the company; there are abundant articles discussing Waymo stealing share from the ride-share economy and launching in new geographies. Long-term, GOOG’s recently announced quantum computing chip positions it well for a future (many, many years away) where computing process are fundamentally different than today. All of these options are embedded in a company that already has an established and dominant earnings stream.”

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