SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Web search leader Google
Inc. rose 2.5 percent to a record high on Tuesday as strong trends in
online advertising also lifted its closest competitor, Yahoo
Inc.
Online advertising, which includes Web search and branded advertising,
is broadly expected to have been strong over the fourth-quarter.
Deutsche Bank Securities in a recent report also said that robust
online advertising spending trends are likely to continue into the
first quarter.
Shares of Google, which gets virtually all of its revenue from Web
search advertising, rose as high as $205.02 on Nasdaq, before
paring gains to close up $3.93 at $203.90.
Shares of Yahoo, Google's closest competitor in the Web search arena,
rose 48 cents to $37.18 ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings
report due after the market close.
American Technology Research analyst Mark Mahaney said he sees upside
in Yahoo's revenue results, driven by broad strength in both search
and branded advertising, as well as from fees-based businesses.
With regard to Google, Mahaney said Wall Street's consensus
fourth-quarter estimates for 15 percent quarter-on-quarter revenue
growth on Google Web sites is too conservative and that sequential
revenue growth is more likely to be 20 percent.
Google is scheduled to report its results on Feb. 1.
Google, which went public in August with an offering of 19.6 million
shares, has seen its share price rise steadily even as the number of
shares eligible for public trade has increased by close to 90
million. Another 176.9 million shares will become eligible for public
trade next month, as the last lockups on Google shares expire.
Also on Tuesday, shares of iVillage Inc., an Internet media company
for women, were up nearly 5 percent to $6.71.
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
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Lisa Minter (lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com)