UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises PT on Google

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Neutral rating on Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and raised its price target from $780.00 to $790.00.BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “We reiterate Neutral and raise our PO from $780 to $790. We are raising 13/14E EPS from $45.68/$52.16 to $46.33/$52.97. We are raising our 2013 net revenues (up 5%), and slightly raising 2013 non-GAAP EPS (1.4%) to $46.33 to reflect higher Website revenues (US$ appreciation since Oct. a driver) and Nexus tablet sales, offset somewhat by lower margins. Google standalone net revenues at $9.8bn (up 21% y/y or ~24% ex-FX) beat our $9.7bn, but non-GAAP margins at 45% were below our 47%, driven by Nexus tablet and content costs. EPS at $10.65 was above the Street at $10.50, aided by $0.30 by a lower tax rate. CPCs improved to down 4% y/y ex-FX.”Google closed on Tuesday at $702.87.