The recent slide of Google’s stock, about 30 percent since the beginning of the year, has made it more than 35 percent undervalued, Wall Street analysts say.
Slowing profit growth has soured investors on the company, pushing the stock price to about $482 recently. But it’s not as if the company has fallen on hard times.
Both revenue and net income jumped 24 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier. Profit hit $1.84 billion, up from $1.48 billion. And revenue reached $6.82 billion, up from $5.52 billion.
Google has no debt, and its net profit margin is the envy of the technology industry at 32 percent.
Google’s price-earnings (PE) ratio, based on 2011 estimates is about 15, the same as Apple’s and less than Yahoo’s 19, Barron’s reports.
It’s no wonder that 33 of 38 analysts who follow Google rate it a buy. The consensus target for Google’s share price is 629.
The stock has the potential to rise 50 percent, while the downside risk is only 10 percent, Harry Rady of Rady Asset Management, which owns the stock, told Barron’s.
Some analysts say tech stocks are undervalued across the board.
"Tech fundamentals thus far have remained strong,” Chip Miller, an equity strategist for UBS, told Bloomberg.
“Given how cheap they are, if you take a little bit of a longer-term perspective, it's probably a good buying opportunity."
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