Google: Best Days for Shares May Be Behind It; Stifel Downgrades to Hold (GOOG) (GOOGL)

(Updated - January 8, 2015 10:20 AM EST)

Stifel downgraded Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) from Buy to Hold and removed its price target (prior $610). Analyst Scott W. Devit thinks the "best days" for the stock have past, as significant upside appears unlikely.

"Our downgrade today to a Hold rating does not indicate our belief that the stock will decline significantly in 2015. The stock has valuation support, particularly if one looks past the Internet sector alone. However, while we have tremendous respect for the company and its management team we do not see significant sources of future upside for shares and believe the best days for shares may be behind it," said Devit.

"Google has been an odd stock over the last few years in that the stock has been driven almost solely by multiple expansion and contraction rather than upward or downward estimate revisions. As a result, in addition to our fundamental analysis we've reviewed and analyzed fund flows, consensus estimates, historical multiple expansion and contraction, and both relative valuation and sum of the parts valuation and believe that while shares are not likely to decline significantly, they are also unlikely to see significant upside or multiple expansion," he added.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Google click here. For more ratings news on Google click here.

Shares of Google closed at $501.10 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• HSBC Downgrades Feng Tay Enterprises (9910:TT) to Hold
• QuantumScape (QS) PT Lowered to $6 at Truist Securities
• Wells Fargo on Super Micro Computer (SMCI): 'No Positive Preannouncement