There are enough research reports and notes out today on Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) that the ‘consensus’ numbers ahead and the consensus targets aren’t going to be of any use for a while.  We compiled a list of new and recent target upgrades from the street, and the new high target from bulge bracket firms is now $800.00.  Here is a list of the seen new price targets today:

• Credit Suisse             $800
• Goldman Sachs        $800
• B of A                            $785
• Citi                                $775
• Cantor Fitzgerald       $750
• Jefferies                      $725
• RBC                             $725
• BMO Capital               $690

Before today:

• Jim Cramer                $750 (hint at $900)
• Merrill Lynch               $740
• Oppenheimer            $700
• Lehman                      $714
• Needham                   $690

We already showed what a $600 target would look like when shares were well under that and then we showed what a $700 Google would look like.  Regardless of a current $200 Billion market cap, it seems like if the company can keep its stellar earnings growth intact that the headline will come across the tape "So and So raises Google’s price target to $1,000"…. Obviously there are a lot of bench stops between $650 and $1,000, or even between here and $800 targets.

Shares of Google are up 1.5% around $649.00 today, which is a new all-time not counting today’s intraday highs.  Obviously the bullish sentiment out there in the market hasn’t dwindled into outright bearishness, otherwise you would have seen "relative value downgrades" out of brokerage firms today.  Imagine how well the stock would be doing today if it wasn’t options expiration and if it the DJIA wasn’t down so much today.

Jon C. Ogg
October 19, 2007

Jon Ogg produces the subscriber-based Special Situation Investing Newsletter; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.  Trial members signing up this weekend will still be entitled to view the first part of our "Small Cap Internet Watch List" of likely takeover targets in the sector.

• What Google Finance can do to improve;
• Cramer’s "New Four Horsemen Of Tech".

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