ValueClick shares soar on outlook

By The Associated Press
ValueClick Inc.'s shares soared in trading Friday after the digital marketing company issued a positive second-quarter forecast and expanded its share buyback program.
THE SPARK: ValueClick announced Thursday that it expects its revenue to come in at the high-end of its previously issued guidance of a range of $155 million to $160 million on growth in its media segment. It also said it expects its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortization will come in at the high-end of its previous of guidance of $46 million to $48 million.
Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting the company to generate revenue of $157.2 million prior to the announcement. They had been expecting EBITDA of $46.9 million.
ValueClick also said that its board authorized a $100 million increase to its share buyback program. And it announced that it has increased the amount of money available under its credit facility by $50 million.
THE BIG PICTURE: ValueClick, based in Westlake Village, Calif., provides products and services to help companies advertise and sell their products online. Its shares have dropped sharply since May, when it reported first-quarter revenue and second-quarter revenue forecasts that fell short of analyst expectations.
The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter results at the end of July and said it will issue its third-quarter earnings guidance at that time.
THE ANALYSIS: Raymond James analyst Shyam Patil said that the company's strong performance in media should help ease recent concerns about the potential impact from exchanges and real-time bidding.
"We believe ValueClick issued the business update to ease recent concerns about (second-quarter) trends and as part of the stock buyback update," he wrote in a research note.
SHARE ACTION: Shares of ValueClick rose $2.13, more than 15 percent, to $16.23 in early afternoon trading. Its shares have traded between $13.35 and $21.86 in the past 52 weeks.
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