Benzinga | Jan 19, 2022 11:45AM EST

Here's Why BofA Remains Bullish On Alphabet

* BofA analyst Justin Post raised the price target on Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to $3,470 from $3,210 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The price target implies an upside of 27%.

* The analyst expects deceleration in 2022 versus the 41% estimated search growth in 2021. However, he thinks Google is still early in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning technology across its ad stack.

* Related Content: Morgan Stanley Bumps Up Alphabet Price By 7.2%

* These new initiatives, such as Performance Max, "can continue to drive healthy search revenue growth," Post notes.

* In addition, traction for YouTube Shorts "appears strong," adds the analyst. Post believes the estimated YouTube monetization of $10.92 per user "still seams early" and should benefit from the ongoing decline in TV ratings and shift in spending.

* Price Action: GOOGL shares traded higher by 0.01% at $2,720.11 on the last check Wednesday.