Shares of internet giant Google broke through the $600 mark yesterday following favourable predictions concerning its business potential.The stock rose by 2.6 per cent ($15.57) to reach $609.62 on the Nasdaq stock market, marking the sixth time in the past 12 trading sessions that the search engine has reached a new high.
This year, Google's share price has risen by over a quarter, despite having fallen below $450 earlier this year and is now one of only five US companies whose stocks exceed $600.
The latest gains follow a report from Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns in which analysts said Google's stock could rise to $625 by the end of the year, AFP news agency reports.
Commenting that the company is continuing to gain market share in the online search sector, the analysts added that Google's stock could even hit $700 by the end of 2008.
Additionally, Nollenberger Capital Partners stated in a report that, due to its impressive performance, the search engine's prior earnings estimates are likely to be too conservative.
Analysts at the firm stated: "Beyond the near term there remains a wealth of untapped opportunity for Google in both the mobile advertising arena as well as in display advertising."
Following previous share price rises, Bloomberg reported that Google's stock market success can be attributed to investors betting that the search engine will benefit from increased sales from firms shifting advertising to the internet.
