Yahoo’s stock price has surpassed $30 for the first time since the Internet company was fending off a takeover offer bid by Microsoft 5 1/2 years ago.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company reached the milestone Thursday as investors reacted to the latest evidence that Yahoo Inc.‘s online services are becoming more compelling under CEO Marissa Mayer. In an appearance at a technology conference Wednesday, Mayer disclosed that the number of Yahoo’s users has climbed 20 percent to about 800 million people since she defected from Google Inc. last year.

Yahoo’s stock gained 83 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to $30.02 in afternoon trading. The stock hadn’t topped that level since February 2008, shortly after Microsoft Corp. offered to buy Yahoo for $31 per share, or $44.6 billon.

(AP)