Evercore ups Google on ad spends, sees Facebook threat
Evercore Partners upgraded Google Inc to "equal-weight" from "underweight" citing positive advertising trends on strong e-commerce spending but said Facebook remains a concern.
January 14, 2011 / 21:28 IST
Evercore Partners upgraded Google Inc to "equal-weight" from "underweight" citing positive advertising trends on strong e-commerce spending but said Facebook remains a concern.
"Google has better positioned itself to benefit from evolving display marketplace trends than we had anticipated," the brokerage said in a note, raising its price target on Google's stock to USD 630 from USD 620.But, it added that Facebook remains a challenge because of its potential for commercial search.Facebook Connect may be the basis for an ad networking platform similar to Google's AdSense and its partnership with Microsoft Corp's Bing will ultimately bring together elements of algorithmic search with social, satisfying user needs for both, Evercore said.Facebook also offers brand searches in which users can search and express their "likes" for a specific brand, providing a powerful referral tool and resulting in more advertising, the brokerage said.Evercore said Facebook overtook Google to be the site with the most traffic, as of November -- with 8.9% of all US visits between January and November, the social network site edged out the search engine which had about 7.2% traffic, according to online measurement service Experian Hitwise.Shares of California-based Google closed at USD 616.69 on Thursday on Nasdaq. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
