Google Upgraded As Margins Begin To Stabilize

Google Inc. was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital Markets on Thursday, hours before the company’s scheduled second-quarter earnings release. Analyst Daniel Salmon said the upgrade isn't a call on the company's imminent quarterly results, and doesn't represent a material change in view, but reflects increased confidence in upward estimate revisions in the coming quarters. BMO expects Google's margins to stabilize in the second half of 2015 and fiscal-year 2016 as it improves search growth and video ads on YouTube. Shares of Google traded up 1% premarket to $589.95. They have risen 7.5% over the last three months, outperforming the S&P 500, which is up just 0.1% over the same period.