Google Shares: Do I Hear $360?

Updated from 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Google bids just keep on rising.

Not, that is, the bids that advertisers make to place ads on Google's site or in its extensive network of sites. But the bids that research analysts covering Google keep making in the form of price targets, which have been spurring speculative traders starving for any information on the closely watched stock.

The latest bid came from Smith Barney, which initiated coverage late Tuesday on Google at $360, nearly 30% above the stock's closing price on Wednesday. Google fell 4.6% to $279.56 in Wednesday's trading session, partly amid concerns that data on keyword prices declined in May from April. In after-hours trading it was up 0.5% to $280.88. ...