ValueClick Net Up 90%, Beats by a Penny; FTC Investigation?

ValueClick reported Q1 net income jumped 90% to $18.6 million, or $0.18/share, beating the Street by a penny. Sales rose 34% to $156.9m, also topping analysts' estimates. ValueClick raised its full-year EPS guidance by a penny to $0.79 - $0.81, compared to analysts' expectation of $0.81. Sales are seen coming in at $655m - $665m, versus analysts' forecast of $662.2m. Q2 EPS is expected between $0.17 to $0.18 (vs. $0.14 last year) on sales growth of at least 20% to $157m - $159m -- the company cited tougher y/y comparisons. Analysts' average estimates are $0.18 on $158.1m of sales. Shares of ValueClick gained 1.45% to $29.31 during normal trading, and last traded 2.1% lower to $28.70 in the after-hours on volume of nearly 173,000. Separately, on Henry Blodget's InternetOutsider.com, there's note of a possible FTC investigation of ValueClick, regarding its practices, which "could negatively impact its lead-generation business" and is likely to limit "certain types of ads going forward," according to the Stanford Group.

Sources: ValueClick Q1 2007 Earnings Call Transcript, Press release, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, InternetOutsider.com
Commentary: Is ValueClick the Target of an FTC Investigation? • ValueClick: An Online Advertising Value Bet • Google Launches Cost-Per-Action Ad Beta in Threat to ValueClick
Stocks/ETFs to watch: ValueClick (VCLK). Competitors: 24/7 Real Media Inc. (TFSM), aQuantive (AQNT), DoubleClick -- privately held and agreed to be acquired by Google (Apr. '07)

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