Google stock tumbles on gloomier investor sentiment

Google Inc.'s stock price dropped by more than 4 percent on Monday, accelerating a recent shift in sentiment that has caused once-ebullient investors to become more circumspect about the online search engine leader.

Barron's cast the latest pall on Google with an article outlining several risks that threaten to squeeze the company's profit margins and cut its market value in half.

The gloomy scenario further dampened investors' enthusiasm for Google, whose market value has plunged by 27 percent during the past month to wipe out nearly US$40 billion in shareholder wealth. Google's shares fell US$16.91, or 4.7 percent, to close at US$345.70 on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The shares peaked at US$475.11 on Jan. 11.

Since its stock reached that high, Google has released a fourth-quarter earnings report that didn't live up to analysts' lofty expectations and alienated some of its users by launching a censored version of its search engine in China to adhere to that country's government restrictions on free speech.

Those developments have contributed to an abrupt change in perception about Mountain View-based Google, which began this year as a widely revered Internet icon that seemingly could do no wrong as its shares soared from their August 2004 initial public offering price of US$85.

Now, Google is increasingly being viewed as a company vulnerable to stiffer competition as well as its heavy reliance on advertising revenue growth that could taper off as companies become more sophisticated about online marketing.

Barron's critical piece, which warned Google's shares might drop to as low as US$188, provided a textbook example of how the pendulum has swung against the company.

Many the potential problems detailed in the Barron's article also loomed as possible pitfalls during 2004 and last year, William Blair & Co analyst Troy Mastin reminded investors in a research note on Monday.

"While we agree that the company is facing more headwinds today than last year, most of the fundamental issues raised by Barron's are not materially different than 12 or 18 months ago," Mastin wrote.

Most other analysts echoed Mastin' sentiments, continuing to describe the recent downturn in Google's stock as a golden opportunity for bargain hunters.

"The simple takeaway is that Google owns the best fundamentals in the Internet sector," Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney wrote on Monday, reiterating his belief that the company's shares will bounce back to as high as US$490 during the next year.

Another Internet analyst, Safa Rashtchy of Piper Jaffray, believes Google's shares will reach US$600 by the year's end.

Google continued to enthrall most analysts even as the company's management is ambivalent about Wall Street's opinions.