Google shares close above $900 for first time, market cap at over $300 billion

Google’s shares continued to rise on Wednesday in the wake of the Google I/O conference, closing at over $900 for the first time and giving the company a market cap of over $300 billion for the first time in its history. The company’s stock value has been increasing at a rapid pace all year, growing from the low $700 range at the start of 2013 to the low $900 range by the end of trading on Wednesday. The continued rise in shares Wednesday was somewhat curious given that Google didn’t unveil a new Nexus tablet or a new version of Android at I/O this year as many had been expecting. Some analysts have slapped the company with a $1,000 price target in recent months and it appears that it has a legitimate shot of hitting that target now that its shares have surged past the $900 mark.