Google: Focused on Better Targeted Advertising

UBS Internet analyst Benjamin Schachter this morning raised his rating on Google (GOOG) to Buy from Neutral, while leaving his $560 price target in place.

“GOOG has reached a level where we feel the valuation is compelling,” he wrote in a note this morning. “And while returns in longer-term initiatives may still take more time to develop, we think the fundamentals in its core keyword search business justify a Buy recommendation at current levels.”

Schachter in a sense describes two Googles. There’s the one we all know and love (or loathe), in which “the continued success of keyword advertising on Google.com and partner sites will drive the share price higher than current levels in the near term.” And there is the Google of the future, with many new revenue sources - payments, mobile, video, display and other forms of advertising both online and offline. But that version “will take time.”

Schachter’s call at its heart is about valuation, with the stock down 10% since it released earnings January 31.

“At the end of the day, Google is focused on better targeted advertising, online and offline,” he writes. “We think that is a terrific growth market for the foreseeable future.”

In pre-market trading, Google this morning was up $4.66, at $462.21.