Google's stock price broke $700 for the first time today, reaching as high as $704.79 in morning trading. That means it has taken Google under a month to go from $600 per share to a staggering $700 share price.
Since mid-September Google has added 30% to its stock price and an additional $53 billion to its market capitalization -- or about one and a quarter Yahoo!s. Google's market cap is hovering in the $220 billion range, this morning, and the stock has gained 723% since its IPO in August 2004. Amazingly, despite its phenomenal growth over the past few months, Google has actually been outperformed by a number of other tech stocks this year, including Apple, Amazon, Research in Motion, and Baidu.
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Chart from Yahoo! Finance.
Today's surge is likely due to rumors about Google's new open social networking API and the company's supposed mobile phone plans.
Some investors might be wary that Google's stock topped $700/share for the first time on Halloween, but others aren't frightened so easily. "Bears certainly make the argument that Google is a scary stock that has benefited more from hype and momentum trading. But Google’s stock, as I noted yesterday, isn’t nearly as frightening as some other dot-com stocks," writes Paul LaMonica of CNNMoney. "Don’t be fooled... shares of Google, even at $700, are probably more of a treat than a trick."
Update: Google surged late in the day to close at $707/share -- a new high for the stock.
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