Wall Street Journal – Mutual funds piled into Google Inc. in 2005 as Wall Street repeatedly raised the baron the Internet search giant’s earnings prospects while its stock price soared. As the stock begins to gyrate, fund managers — and investors — must come to grips with those big bets.
Google’s shares swooned twice in the past three weeks, most recently on Tuesday, when the company’s fourth-quarter earnings missed analysts’ lofty expectations. The stock slumped as much as 20% at one point in after-hours trading, shaving billions from Google’s market value in a blink.
“We were somewhat surprised by the magnitude of the decline,” said Alex Motola, manager of the Thornburg Core Growth Fund, which owns Google. He said he thought the stock would recover somewhat by Wednesday’s session. “I tend to think that after-hours trading is like the Wild West.”
Indeed, Google shares recouped more than half of their losses, finishing Wednesday at $401.78, down 7.1%, or $30.88. At its worst point Tuesday evening, the stock plunged nearly $80. That slide, though, wasn’t reflected in mutual funds late Tuesday or Wednesday morning since it occurred after funds locked in their 4 p.m. closing prices used to calculate net asset values.
