On Thursday after the bell Google stunned the Street with a 2 for 1 stock split, but a split that was by no means conventional. The new shares have no voting rights.
“The move says to me founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin control this company and if you don’t like that as a shareholder you can only vote with your feet,” says top BGC analyst Colin Gillis on Fast Money."
“I don’t know why they just don’t take the company private,” adds the obviously aggravated trader Mike Murphy. “If I were a shareholder – this would be my exit point.”
That's because Murphy feels strongly that shareholders, as owners of the company, should have a voice. And he says this development suggests Google doesn't care about that. Murphy wouldn't be surprised if the stock-split triggers selling as investors re-think whether they want Google in their portfolios at all.
Google, however, insists the move was not intended to harm investors but rather accommodate them; Google says investors had been asking for a development such as this to make the stock price more accessible.
Trader Karen Finerman also bemoans the move. She says it confirms that owning Google will continue to involve investing in niche areas that fancy the whims of the founders, such as Google’s space program.
