Local search engine local.com has seen its stock more than triple in the last five days on soaring volume after word last week that the company had won patents for Web search technology and might have a valuable patent horde that could be the target of an acquirer.
“Much of the activity in the stock is being fueled by guesswork surrounding the potential value of the new patents and also by speculation of the value of local.com as a takeover candidate,” says Analyst John Hickman, of the Santa Monica-based research and trading house MDB Capital Group.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 11, 2007. Read the original PDF.