Let's Talk About Google

A little change in the way we are doing real time insights... I think we have gotten away from pointing out specific things we see on specific stocks. So I am going to throw out a name and let's all comment on it as to what we see and where we think it’s headed and why.

My pick is Google (GOOG) - maybe you have heard of them. If not, do a Google Search for them. They should appear at the top of the search.

So I like to look at earnings first... and maybe the weakest part of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) story is that it has missed in two of the last seven quarters. The miss in the December 2011 quarter saw the stock move lower by 7% while the September 2012 miss pushed the stock lower by 9.75%. The beats, on the other hand, have helped move the stock higher by an average of 4.3%.

The next thing I look to as a growth guy is the revenue line. I see the last three quarters have shown year over year growth of 39%, 51% and 39%. That is pretty solid, but the sequential growth story isn't as nice. The December 2011 quarter saw 8% growth in sales from the previous quarter, which was much better than the 0% growth that was posted for the fourth quarter of 2012. That said, the sequential growth for the June and September quarters was 18%, and that is significant.

So why is this real time? I mean earnings were reported back on January 22, right? Well, I see the stock hitting new all-time highs of $840.15 and I saw where some research analysts have moved targets to $1,000. So that is as real time as it gets.

There is plenty of action swirling in and around Google. Glass, YouTube, Ad Spend, Android, Cash position (dividend), Valuation, Chairman Selling $2.5 billion in stock... so let's kick around the Google can and share some thoughts on what interest you and why.

Let's throw out some general comments on the GOOG and see what excites us or scares us about this particular stock.

Read the analyst report on GOOG

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