With Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) reporting record quarterly revenue yesterday, the company's shares are now sitting at a touch under $640 as of yesterday afternoon. Oddly, Google shares did not spike up in after-hours trading on Thursday afternoon after yet another stupendous quarter for the company, with recession and economic fears still in the minds of some investors, even with Google continuing to conquer the internet world.

But at the current share price level, would Google be willing to split its shares (5-for-1, perhaps) in order to make its listed instruments more accessible to non-institutional investors? Google's IPO price in August 2004 of $85 per share was ratcheted down from over $100 for just this reason, and the shares were sold under dutch auction format in order to give anyone and everyone access to them right on IPO day. Could Google be wanting to revive some of that nostalgia now that its shares are in the stratosphere?

Although Google shares closed at under $640 yesterday, premarket trading this morning is looking at Google shares sitting at $653 (up over 2%), and analysts are raising targets -- again -- to the tune of $720 and even $900. Google's shares have been on a virtual roller coaster in the last 16 hours, and today's action will see more of the same. A share split for Google would also relieve some of the public tension (and attention) on the valuation perception of a single share of Google stock, which some say is bad for the company and the sector (let's call it "hype days"). Where do you sit? Would a split be a good thing for the company and the internet sector as a whole? Or, possibly more importantly, is Google looking for more retail ownership of its shares?