Search giant Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has registered a breakout from its intermediate bearish trend. The stock has underperformed the broader markets by a wide margin since the start of this year. After correcting more than 24 per cent from its January highs of US$620, the scrip has gained close to 9 per cent in the last five trading sessions.

Now it looks like all bad news flow has already been factored in the current stock price and prevailing market conditions call for a fresh perspective. Google’s settlements with the Chinese government have provided it the immediate trigger. With the latest settlement, Google has also gained entry in the lucrative Chinese online market.

Google's absence from Chinese market has been a big positive for its competitor Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), which has gained in terms of market share and market capitalization as well. With Google coming back to China, the competitive landscape is certainly in for a major sea change.

Next in line for Google are its earnings results on 15th of July. If the company manages to post even decent numbers, it stands a good chance for further appreciation in stock price. The underlying reasoning is recent price target cuts by JP Morgan and Oppenheimer. JP Morgan has given a price target of US$566 whereas Oppenheimer believes that the upside in the stock is limited to US$500.

Now with the brokerages going not so bullish on the scrip, even small surprises on earnings front are likely to result in big price movements.