Google goes mobile

Article Excerpt

GOOGLE INC. $753 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 327.0 million; Market cap: $243.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 5.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) rose to a new all-time high of $764.89 on September 25, 2012. The stock is now up 17% since the start of the year. The company’s main Internet search business continues to grow strongly, particularly among mobile users. Google’s Android software now powers around two-thirds of the world’s smartphones. That’s driving more traffic to its websites and letting it charge higher advertising rates. Google is also benefiting from problems with the new street-mapping application, or app, on Apple’s (Nasdaq symbol AAPL) new iPhone 5. Apple recently replaced the popular Google Maps app with its own version. However, errors with this new app may prompt Apple to switch back. In addition, social-networking giant Facebook (Nasdaq symbol FB) appears to be having trouble attracting online advertisers. That’s good news for Google, as…