Google declined nearly 12 per cent in after market hours electronic trading in the US yesterday after the company's December quarter profits missed forecasts. The stock lost $51.56 to close at $381 per share after gaining $5.84 per share to close at $432.66 in regular trading on the NASDAQ.
The internet search major reported a net profit of $372.2 million for the fourth quarter as against $204.1 million during the previous year quarter. However, the 82.36 per cent rise in bottom line was considerably lower than analyst estimates. Total revenues for the quarter increased to $1.92 billion from $1.03 billion for the previous year quarter, an increase of 86.41 per cent which was in line with consensus estimates. The stock has been a huge out performer ever since the company came out with its IPO in the second half of 2004 at $85 per share. The stock surged to as high as $475 earlier this January on strong growth in both top and bottom line. The company had always managed to beat estimates for all quarters since it went public which heightened the interest in the stock. With analysts upgrading price targets frequently, some forecasts as high as $2,000 per share over the long term, the stock attracted buying interest unseen since the internet bubble burst.
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