UPDATE: Bank of America Reiterates on Google on In-Line Quarter, Positive Trends

In a report published Thursday, Bank of America analyst Justin Post reiterated a Buy rating on Google GOOG, but lowered the price target from $690.00 to $660.00. In the report, Bank of America noted, “Google reported net revenue a bit below Street at $12.19bn (+22%) vs. $12.25bn and EPS was below at $6.27 vs. $6.44, although we think EPS would have been about in-line excluding 1x expenses and an interest income benefit. Gross profit growth accelerated 140bps to 21%, a positive, and would have been higher ex-FX. While there were moving parts that impacted EPS and 4Q was a tough act to follow, 1Q was a solid Q with 22% net revenue growth, far outpacing most large-cap. tech.” Google closed on Wednesday at $563.90.