5 Wild Minutes for Google

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) investors following yesterday's ticker probably skipped a beat. Like the rest of the buoyant tech stocks, shares of the world's leading search engine were doing nicely until a few minutes before the end of the trading day.

Then, it happened.

Somewhat inexplicably at first, Google went from reclaiming the $400 mile marker to plunging sharply to close at $341.43, all in a matter of seconds.

It was a mistake. The double-digit percentage loss was the result of errant trades routed from another exchange, according to a chagrined Nasdaq OMX (Nasdaq: NDAQ).

The end result is that the exchange is canceling all trades placed between 3:57 p.m. and 4:02 p.m. and resetting Google's price at $400.52 a stub.

That's bad news for potential buyers who thought they had their limit orders filled in the low $300s, and great news for those who cashed out in panic or had stop-loss orders triggered as a result of the faux free-fall.

I guess my heart goes out to the value hunters being denied. I pointed out how Google was a steal after Monday's deluge -- joining other tech bellwethers like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) trading at a forward earnings multiple in the teens. For five minutes of trading time, Google's year-ahead P/E ratio dipped from 16 to just 14.

It didn't last. Apparently, it never even counted.

The next few trading days will be volatile. Investors can count on that. It wouldn't surprise me to see Google hit both the $300 and $500 price points later this year. However, let the trading swings be earned.

Trading platforms aren't perfect. Thankfully, exchanges like Nasdaq and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) have the technology to correct their mistakes early.

Trading in Google is plenty wild without yesterday afternoon's theatrics.

Is Google's next stop $300 or $500? Chime in on the comment box below.

Other ways to answer the door when investing opportunities knock:

• Google in 2010
• It's Raining Tech
• The Best Company I've Ever Seen