This morning, Merrill Lynch issued a bullish report on Yahoo! and upgraded the stock to “buy,” noting that the downturn in the company’s stock price seems to have created new opportunities for investors. “Yahoo is at an attractive entry point entering a seasonally strong holiday period and in-front of a two-year search monetization upgrade cycle, in our view,” wrote analyst Justin Post. The report also pointed out that Yahoo’s share of search queries has remained relatively stable and the new Panama platform is expected to help it compete for search dollars.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n \n

What’s more, Yahoo’s large audience should be a plus when it comes to drawing marketing budgets, according to Merrill Lynch. “Yahoo has a best-of-breed Web user base,” states the report. “The company is well positioned for all online advertising growth opportunities, including branded, search, mobile and video.”