BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to $343 from $340 while maintaining an Outperform rating, following positive channel checks on Google Cloud.

The analyst cited discussions with two former AWS employees, including one with insight into more than $4.7 billion of annual cloud spending. Based on these checks, BMO raised its fourth-quarter 2025 and first-quarter 2026 Google Cloud growth estimates to 39% and 40%, respectively, from prior forecasts of 38% for both periods.

BMO highlighted several takeaways, including accelerating cloud commitments, the role of AI agents in supporting incremental cloud demand, and Claude emerging as a preferred model among developers. The firm also said enterprise AI applications were expected to scale meaningfully in 2027.

BMO reiterated Alphabet as an Outperform-rated Top Pick and raised its estimates alongside the higher price target, reflecting increased confidence in the trajectory of Google Cloud growth.