Google Gets Hot Again

After a hiatus, Google(GOOG Quote) shares seem to have their groove back.

The search giant's stock is trading near new highs and is up about 12% since the company announced second-quarter earnings in July. And the shares are up almost 25% since August lows, which followed a rare profit miss because of aggressive hiring, among other reasons.

Google's gains follow a period of relative stagnation for the stock. Before the latest run, shares traded at around levels the search giant first saw at the end of 2006. Meanwhile, the buzz over the last quarter has ranged from new video ads it introduced to the prospects of the company getting into the mobile phone business. ...