The companies fourth-quarter income rose to $204.1 million in the fourth quarter, compared to only $27.3 million a year earlier.
``The numbers were just excellent,'' John Tinker, an analyst at ThinkEquity Partners in New York, said in an interview yesterday. ``Everyone was wondering with the IPO whether they would take their eye of the ball. Obviously they haven't.'' Tinker rates the shares ``buy'' and said he will significantly raise his $200 price target this morning.More details at Bloomberg
Higher prices for advertising linked to search results helped Google generate increased profits. The company also kept a bigger slice of revenue from ads it distributes to other Internet sites.