Shares of Google Inc hit a new high on Monday, giving the Web search leader a bigger market value than rival Yahoo Inc, as traders who had shorted the stock scrambled to buy back scarce shares after Google's better-than-expected quarterly results last week.
Based on its closing price of $187.40 and total outstanding shares of 271.2 million, Google's market capitalisation was $50.8 billion. That compares with $47.9 billion for Yahoo, which has 1.4 billion shares outstanding.
Google's stock peaked at $194.43 on the Nasdaq during Monday trade - a 129 percent gain from Google's debut stock price - and some analysts said the limited number of Google shares available for trade had thrown the supply and demand relationship out of whack.
Options activity was also brisk after Friday's record run.
Google on Thursday reported third-quarter growth and profit that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
The results helped to quiet sceptics who had suggested that hype around the company had outpaced reality and had put "sell" ratings on the stock. At the same time, it sent traders who were betting on a stock price decline hunting for hard-to-find Google shares to cover their positions.
"Speculators who are short (on Google) are finding it difficult to borrow shares because of the limited number of shares in float," Paul Foster, options strategist at insideoptions.com, said in a note. "Risk managers are closing out losing short positions by buying back (Google) shares, resulting in a 'short squeeze,'" he said.
Google has a float, or the percentage of its shares that are available for public trade, of about 22.5 million shares - far smaller than many other Internet names. That small float has contributed to volatility.
In mid-November, selling restrictions will lift for certain Google insiders and more than double the size of Google's float.
"The problem was exacerbated because many options players used hedging strategies that involved short stock positions, further contributing to the difficulty in finding shares," said Tim Biggam, chief options strategist with Man Financial.
"I'd hate to see individual investors chase (the stock) now," said Andy Kessler, an author and former hedge fund manager, referring to the period when Google has a small float.
"There are reasons to be optimistic about the company. I don't think there are reasons to be all that optimistic about the stock.... It's not a true market for these shares," said Kessler.
Google currently competes with Yahoo and gets the majority of its revenue from Web search advertising. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp has publicly stated its intention to roll out its own Web search technology.
Comments
Comments are closed.