To see tech giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dealing with legal issues isn’t really surprising. However, this time, it ended reasonably well for Alphabet, as its Google arm reached a settlement with Singular Computing over artificial intelligence chips. An ending was good enough for investors, who sent shares up around 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The original suit called for $1.67 billion in damages against Google, who allegedly took advantage of Singular Computing’s innovations to make its own chips happen. But a literally 11th-hour deal—the closing arguments in the case were scheduled to start the same day the settlement was announced—ended up shutting down the whole trial to both sides’ apparent satisfaction. Both sides confirmed that a settlement did indeed exist, but neither side would talk about what was actually in the settlement.
Excellent Timing
The news of the settlement, which will likely free up Google to continue producing developments in artificial intelligence, comes at an excellent time. Google just announced a slate of new tools backed up by AI, which are geared toward classroom development. Teachers can now add questions to YouTube videos for classroom discussion, and before too much longer, the AI will even be able to suggest the nature of those questions. Who knows, it might even get to the point where the teacher is no longer necessary.
What is the Target Price for Google?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 25 Buys and seven Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 56.58% rally in its share price over the past year, the average GOOGL price target of $156.93 per share implies 5.08% upside potential.
