I'd never heard of William Morrison, an analyst with JMP Securities, until this morning when I read he has raised his 12-month target price on Google to $575 from $400. Morrison became more bullish about Google following the AOL deal, which will give Google "multiple entrées into the branded market, which is important for the company's long term growth outlook." His bullishness and a dot-com company and willingness to throw out such an eye-catching number reminds me of Henry Blodget, who was a little-known analyst with CIBC Oppenheimer, until he boldly suggested in December 1998 that Amazon.com would hit $400. Within several weeks, Blodget's target was reached, and he was soon snapped by Merrill Lynch. (As an aside, Blodget wrote a column in January 1999 that "Unlike with other famous bubbles...the Internet bubble is riding on rock-solid fundamentals, perhaps stronger than any the market has seen before.") Perhaps Morrison is trying to be the next Henry Blodget by jumping out ahead of the pack to capture some attention. If Google rockets forward, then Morrison will be seen as prescient, his status within the analyst community will be enhanced, and he may land himself a new gig. Then again, stock price targets are strange beasts because in many cases they are based as much on emotion than fundamentals. If people believe a stock is going to hit a certain target because analysts issue specific targets, then investors will buy the stock - and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Google is a no-lose opportunity for an analyst looking to make his mark. It's easily the dot-com play right now and the sky is the limit. If you ask me, hooking your future on a rising star doesn't seem to be that much of a gamble.