Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Is Trading Up Ahead of Earnings
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares are gaining momentum and jumped 1.28% to $634.90 as the search engine giant is all set to report its first quarter earnings on Thursday, April 12, 2012. On an average, analysts are estimating the company to report a profit of $9.65 a share, up from its year ago profit of $8.08 and $8.22 a share from the previous quarter. Revenue is estimated to grow by 24.60% to $8.14 billion, from a year ago revenue of $6.54 billion.
Shares of GOOG have underperformed ever since it reported its fourth quarter earnings as the company’s revenue per click fell 8%. Also, the company’s EPS came below analysts’ estimates after beating analysts’ target in the prior two quarters. In Q4, the company reported net income of $8.22 a share, missing analysts’ estimates of a profit of $9.06 per share.
Last week, Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley wrote in a note that he didn’t expect cost per click to “reaccelerate” until the final months of 2012, with a holiday season boost. Walmsley rates Google a buy. Analysts are optimistic about GOOG, with 29 analysts rating it as a buy, none rating it as a sell and seven rating it as a hold.
This morning, the company announced on its blog that it is redesigning Google+ to make it more customized. Part of the customization will partake to apps and navigation bar that will incorporate profiles and pictures more efficiently. Also, Google has announced the unveiling of the Explore page that will post interesting trends within Google+. Since its launch in 2011, Google+ has generated over 170 million users, which is pretty good – although most of them don’t even use it as Facebook still reigns supreme. The new features added to the site as Facebook added new Timeline feature. The new design will also make it easier to navigate around the site and use apps more efficiently. The idea was to rival Facebook but look uncluttered and clean at the same time. Google says that the redesign is still in the early stages but that it will be released soon.