On Valuation, Cramer Prefers Google To Yandex (YNDX, GOOG, BIDU, AOL, YHOO)

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• Google Dinged By Morgan Stanley Downgrade (GOOG, YNDX, AOL, BIDU, MSFT, YHOO)
• Microsoft, Baidu In Partnership; Analysts Chime In On Yandex (BIDU, MSFT, GOOG, YNDX, AOL, INSP, YHOO)
• Google, Baidu, Yandex: Search Engine Investing Goes Global (GOOG, YHOO, IACI, AOL, INSP, MSFT, BIDU, YNDX, EXPE, OWW)

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Shares of newly public Russian search engine Yandex (YNDX) are up 2%, but the company that said it is better than Google (GOOG) could actually be the reason to buy shares of the California-based Internet search provider according to “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer. Cramer points to the the fact that Yandex now trades at 60 times earnings compared to just 15 times for Google, the world’s most popular Internet search engine.

Despite Cramer’s endorsement of Google, the shares are flat today, but the Search Engine Stocks Index is higher by 1.4%. Cramer said Google is obviously superior to Yandex and that makes the valuation “absurd” and despite Google’s $500-plus price tag, it’s the better bet. Google also has nearly $37 billion in cash. Yandex also trades at 1.5 times its growth rate, while Google trades at less than one time its growth rate, according to TheStreet.com.

In Russia, Yandex dominates its American rival with roughly triple the market share. Separately, Google said Chinese hackers tried to steal passwords from hundreds of Gmail users, targeting government officials in the U.S. and Asia, Bloomberg News reported.

Google said it was able to disrupt the attempts, secured the accounts and has notified the relevant authorities.

Looking at other search engine names, Baidu (BIDU), China’s largest provider of Internet search services, is up 2%. AOL Inc (AOL) and Yahoo (YHOO) are both higher by 1%.

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Tags: AOL, BIDU, GOOG, YHOO, YNDX