Company Update (NASDAQ:GOOG): Google faces first EU fine in 2016 with no deal on cards: sources

[Reuters] – Google (GOOGL.O) is likely to face its first European Union antitrust sanction this year, with little prospect of it settling a test case with the bloc’s regulator over its shopping service, people familiar with the matter said. There are few incentives left for either party to reach a deal in a six-year dispute that could set a precedent for Google searches for hotels, flights and other services and tests regulators’ ability to ensure diversity on the Web. Alphabet Inc’s Google, which was hit by a second EU antitrust charge this month for using its dominant Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals, shows little sign of backing down after years of wrangling with European authorities. Read more on this. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) , currently valued at $475.64B, started trading this morning at $690.70. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $690.25 and $697.49 and has traded between $515.18 and $789.87 over the past year. GOOG shares are currently priced at 20.56x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 13.35x forward p/e ratio. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 36 sell-side analysts are looking at $8.05 per share, which would be $1.06 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.07 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $33.61 would be a $4.03 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $20.75 Billion. If reported, that would be a 17.03% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Pivotal Research Group upgraded GOOG from Hold to Buy (Apr 11, 2016). Previously, Goldman upgraded GOOG from Neutral to Buy. When considering if the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $924.83, which is 33.90% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:GOOG) Similar Articles: Company Update: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Russian anti-monopoly body puts off decision on possible Google fine to May 11 – RIA Company Update: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Google invented this weird-looking gadget to collect people’s medical info Market Update: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Google Express vs. Amazon Prime Now (GOOG, AMZN)