Is Google (GOOG) a $1,000 Stock, or the Next Apple (AAPL)?

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Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been on a tear for quite some time.

Shares of the search-engine giant have risen 41% in the last six months, 46% in the last year and 77% over the past two years. Yesterday, stock topped $900 for the first time in its history.

Is $1,000 per share next? Perhaps. But Google could just as easily suffer the same fate as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Let’s compare where Google shares are now vs. where Apple was when it started retreating eight months ago:

                Google Now                                                                                     Apple Then

  • Over $900 for the first time ever                                               Over $700 for the first time ever
  • Shares up 26% year-to-date                                                    Shares up 73% year-to-date
  • P/E: 27                                                                                          P/E: 16.5
  • Quarterly earnings growth: 15.8%                                          Quarterly earnings growth: 23%

Right now, Google has a loftier price-to-earnings ratio, lower quarterly earnings growth and a higher share price than Apple did on September 18. Since then, Apple shares have tanked, falling 39% to roughly $430 a share as of this morning.

Does this mean Google is destined to suffer the same fate as its rival? Not necessarily. But the lofty P/E coupled with the potential sticker shock some investors might feel in seeing a $900 stock (a historical rarity) will make getting to a $1,000 a share – something no tech stock has ever accomplished – an uphill battle.

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