Here’s Why You Should Buy Google Stock Now

GOOG stock is a winner in both the short and long term

Google (GOOG) has underperformed so far this year with a 4% return vs. 6% for the S&P 500.

There have also been some disappointing GOOG stock headlines including scrubbing search results in Europe to deal with privacy concerns and disappointing first-quarter earnings.

But Google stock is better than some investors think, particularly as a long-term play on innovative new technology.

Here’s why I like GOOG stock now:

Recent Momentum for Google Stock: Google’s first-quarter earnings were disappointing. However, the shares have quickly added back 15% since the stock’s low in early May. Consider that Deutsche Bank and RBC lowered targets on Google’s stock after the report, the investment banks still remain bullish with targets of $625 and $670, respectively.

Android Domination: Google’s Android OS was present on 79% of worldwide smartphone shipments in 2013, per Strategy Analytics. That’s a massive market share and surely can be platformed into new revenue streams through advertising, content or other applications on Android-powered phones.

Google Is Flush with Cash: With roughly $60 billion in cash and investments on the books and operating cash flow of over $18 billion last year, there are fewer companies on Wall Street more stable than Google. But it’s not just stability that investors should be attracted to. With a history of ambitious acquisitions for both technology and talent, Google is agile and has deep enough pockets to be seen as a serious competitor in almost any field of technology.

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Innovation: As proof that Google can put its high-tech know-how to work on far more than just smartphone apps and Internet ads, consider its recent health initiatives. Earlier this year, Google announced plans for a smart contact lens that could help diabetics monitor their blood sugar. Also, consider that in past several months, Google has snapped up a host of robotics and artificial-intelligence firms including Deep Mind, humanoid robotics manufacturer Schaft and robotic-arm company Redwood Robotics. Who knows when or how this focus on healthcare or robots will hit the bottom line, but the efforts are proof of just how hard Google is thinking about the future of technology.

“Other” Revenue is Real: Just look at the “other” line on the tech giant’s revenue breakdown and you’ll see that Google isn’t just funding pet projects for fun and games. Sales in this category more than doubled from 2012 to 2013, going from just under $2.4 billion to almost $5 billion. Furthermore, those “other” revenues are more than triple the $1.4 billion from fiscal 2011. That trend should only grow, considering first-quarter “other” revenue totaled over $1.5 billion. Sure, Google is an advertising powerhouse and relies heavily on that arm of the business now, but the company is growing and evolving ambitiously, and many of these projects are starting to deliver material revenue.

Valuation: Based on 2014 earnings forecasts, Google stock is trading for a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 21 right now. That’s a bit high, but taken in context, it seems, at worst, fairly valued. Consider, for instance, that Google traded for a forward P/E of around 20 for much of 2011 and 2012 — and that a decade ago, its valuation regularly skewed higher. When you throw in the fact that the forward P/E of the S&P 500 is over 16 and the Nasdaq is pushing 18, Google doesn’t look pricey at all.

All in all, Google stock is quite attractive both with the short-term momentum for shares as well as the long-term innovation going on at GOOG.

Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com and the author of The Frugal Investor’s Guide to Finding Great Stocks. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Write him at editor@investorplace.com or follow him on Twitter at @JeffReevesIP.

Here’s why Google bought Songza

BY GAIL SULLIVAN
We’re way past the days of messy, anything-you-get-for-free downloading on Napster. People want their music the way museums want their collections and sommeliers want their wine cellars: curated.

Any not by just anyone — by experts. That’s why major tech companies are snapping up digital music services that offer the ability to create playlists suited to users’ changing moods, activities, even the weather.

On Tuesday, Google confirmed rumors it is buying Songza, a music app that makes customized playlists – including ones inspired by current weather conditions thanks to a partnership with the Weather Channel. The free, ad-supported app also offers sounds for a range of moods – cocky, lush, visceral and rowdy, to name a few, and for activities such as “dirt road driving” or “shopping at a vintage store.”

Songza song choice for announcing the deal with Google? “Walking on Sunshine.”

Google paid more than $39 million for Songza, a person familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak about its terms told the New York Times. Representatives of Google and Songza declined to confirm that number. If accurate, that’s far less than the $3 billion Apple paid for Beats, a company that makes popular headphones and offers a curated music subscription service.

Google said in an announcement that it’s not “planning any immediate changes to Songza” but will “explore ways to bring what you love about Songza to Google Play Music” and “look for opportunities to bring their great work to the music experience on YouTube and other Google products.”

A Google spokesman told Mashable that Google’s Play Music is getting more interest from users, particularly the radio features that allow users to control what is coming next as well as take stations offline. “We view the Songza acquisition as a way to further enhance our radio feature by adding their expertise on context,” the spokesperson said.

So why did Google buy Songza, which has a fraction of the users that market leaders Pandora and Spotify have? It’s not about boosting the number of subscribers, according to Forbes contributor Bobby Owsinksi: “The company’s Music Play All Access service doesn’t have the kind of subscriber numbers it wants, but that could be just a matter of time, considering that YouTube (which it owns) is the number one online source for music discovery and access already. And the company already has a large catalog of licensed songs, so a purchase with that in mind is redundant.”

So what’s the attraction? Curation, of course. “While Google may be the king of the algorithm, it’s been proven time and again that computer generated playlists can’t come close to the musical taste of human,” Owsinski said.

As Business Insider pointed out back in June, when rumors of the deal were circulating, Pandora’s Music Genome Project “represents over 10 years of music analysis. Collecting the data for a single song can take 20 minutes. A decade. That’s how far behind Google is, in theory, in terms of music streaming — and why it will pounce on Songza if it gets the right price.”

Google Lunar Xprize: The next great race to the moon

The Google Lunar Xprize is racing ahead as 18 teams across the world compete to become the first among them to land on the moon. The payoff: a $30 million prize and international glory. Here's a preview of our upcoming coverage.

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Rumor: Apple's 'iPhone 6' to launch on Sept. 25, larger 5.5" version dubbed 'iPhone Air'

By AppleInsider Staff

Another questionable rumor out of China on Thursday claims Apple will announce its next-gen iPhone on Sept. 15 ahead of a Sept. 25 launch date, while mention is made of a 16GB 5.5-inch version that will supposedly be called "iPhone Air."

"iPhone 6" and "iPhone 6c" concepts by Martin Hajek.

According to Chinese language website China.com, industry sources are telling various media outlets in the region that Apple is planning to start sales of its next iPhone on Sept. 25, with China expected to be in the first group of countries to get the device. 

The report, spotted by GforGames is highly suspect, as Apple historically starts sales of new iPhone models on Fridays, and Sept. 25 is a Thursday. Last year, Apple performed a simultaneous launch with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on Friday, Sept. 20. 

Perhaps more believable, though by no means verifiable, is a rumor from May saying that Apple plans to launch the device or devices on Sept. 19, a date echoed in a follow-up report last week.

Insiders also said a 5.5-inch "phablet" version of the next-gen "iPhone 6" will be called "iPhone Air," though such a move would likely confuse the "Air" naming convention. As it stands, the MacBook Air represents the Apple's smallest and lightest laptops, while the "Air" moniker is assigned to the company's largest iPad. 

As for pricing, Thursday's report is exactly in line with prior claims that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will cost 5,288 yuan (about $850) when it hits store shelves. While last week's rumor failed to mention a 16GB variant of an anticipated 5.5-inch iPhone, today's report cites insiders as saying the device does exist and expects it to run 5,998 yuan (about $965). 

Finally, sources claim Apple's partner carriers in the region, China Mobile and China Unicom, are already testing prototype iPhone 6 units on their respective 4G networks.

When the next-gen iPhone lineup does launch sometime this fall, many expect the handset to feature a complete redesign relocated sleep/wake button, slimmed-down profile and advanced innards like an "A8" processor. Some analysts believe Apple plans to differentiate the purported 5.5-inch version from its smaller siblings by adding on features like optical image stabilization and higher storage capacities.

Tags:

• iPhone 6
• iPhone plus

9-Year-Old Returns Thousands Of Dollars Found In Parking Lot

WALPOLE, MA- A heartwarming story out of Massachusetts.

As a nine-year-old girl turns in an envelope she found on the street stuffed with nearly $3,000.

The money then making its way back to the owner, 91-year-old woman who had accidentally lost it.

The girl found the envelope in the parking lot next to a Walpole Park where she was attending summer camp on Monday.

FOX 29 News Philadelphia | WTXF-TV

Something drew her attention to the bin where she came across the loot.

"She knew it wasn't hers so she went and told the director and she in turn told me," said Officer John Thayer of Walpole Police.

Officer Thayer in turn did some dumpster-diving himself to help find the money's owner.

"It was in between a couple of magazines and newspapers that had this person's name on it," Thayer explained.

Officer Thayer was able to track the cash to a 91-one-year-old woman in Belmont.

That's a good 40 miles from where the money turned up in Walpole.

Brought there accidentally by a friend of the woman who lives there.

"She did not even know it was gone it happened to be tossed out with the recycling they were cleaning out some items in her house and it must have got mixed up in the box," said Thayer.

And after meeting the girl's parents, it clear her compassion is spawned by their humility.

Fortunately for everyone involved, they got to see the fruits of their parenting.

Here's What Google's Game Controller For Android TV Looks Like

Google+ / Artem Russakovskii

Google will launch the Android TV later this year.

DAVE SMITH

Gaming will be a big focus in the new Android TV ecosystem launching this fall, as the software will allow users to play their mobile games right on their televisions.

Google says players can use their Android phones or tablets as controllers, but the company is also launching a unique game controller exclusive to Android TV — and now we know what it looks like.

According to Google I/O 2014 attendee Artem Russakovskii, who posted images of the Android TV game controller to his Google+ account, every Android TV box will ship with the game controller, which comes with two thumbsticks, a directional pad, four face buttons, shoulder buttons, four LEDs, a home button and two navigation buttons.

Basically, it’s an Xbox controller with a little bit of Android button flair (scroll down to see the controller in greater detail).

The images on Google+ seem to confirm a set of Android TV game controller renderings previously posted to Reddit a few days ago. The renders were apparently found buried within the official developer preview for Google's new Android L software.

We’ve reached out to Google to learn more about the controller — whether it will also be sold separately from the Android TV and work with other peripherals — and we’ll update this story when we learn more. However, Google did have the controllers available for testing at its I/O developers conference last week.

Games aside, the Android TV is Google’s second attempt at creating TV software, after Google TV flopped back in 2010. Android TV offers similar features to most TV set-top boxes, including the ability to search and stream movies and TV shows from video apps like YouTube, Netflix and HBO GO. And thanks to advanced voice search and its deep Knowledge Graph, Android TV can also answer complex queries like, “Who plays Johnny Blaze in ‘Ghost Rider’?” or “Oscar-nominated movies from 2005.”

Android TV will also offer full support for Chromecast, Google’s $35 TV streaming stick, and the Google Cast platform, which lets smartphone users beam their content to the Chromecast over the Wi-Fi network.

Here's another look at the Android TV game controller (via Reddit):

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/android-tv-game-controller-2014-6#ixzz36CA4dRYe