Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) Defended Again over Groupon Deal

Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) has had a chorus of defenders over their possible acquisition of Groupon, the latest being Caris & Co., which says they see they see a lot of potential in the deal.

All the excitement centers around the possibility they may have figured out the next holy grail of the advertising industry: the local ad market, which is estimated to be valued at about $100 billion.

Caris said Groupon has the "most compelling model" they have seen for local advertising.

Caris & Co. analyst Sandeep Aggarwal said, “In our view, acquiring a high-growth opportunity is the right use of Google’s $30 billion in cash.”

Google has a "Buy" rating on them from Caris, and closed Thursday at $571.82, up by $7.47, or 1.32 percent.