Analysts rushed to the aid of Google yesterday after the company's CFO warned a room full of reporters, investors and analysts that the search giant's growth would probably slow considerably. Several
analysts said George Reyes' comments were taken out of context, and actually advised investors to buy Google at $362.62. "Search monetization gains have largely been realized," Reyes said in a speech
at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York. He said future growth would come from other "organic" factors such as an increasing number of search queries. Reyes said he hasn't turned "bearish," but
admitted that "at the end of the day, growth will slow." His comments resulted in a massive sell-off of Google stock immediately after his speech, but the stock ultimately rebounded to close down 7
percent. Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto said Reyes' comments were implied to be longer term in nature, and pegged Google's value at $500 per share. Safa Rashtchy of Piper Jaffray agreed, saying
"We don't believe there is any new or faster slowdown in Google's growth than what we have already modeled."
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