aQuantive on Fire

First-quarter results and management's outlook "support our view that aQuantive remains one of the highest-quality vehicles through which small-cap investors can gain exposure to the online advertising sector," wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown in a Tuesday research note raising aQuantive's price target to $38.

"Moreover, aQuantive remains among the best-positioned companies in the Internet sector, in our view, and continues to execute flawlessly on the opportunity."

aQuantive also feels it stands to benefit from one the biggest recent developments in the sector: the $3.1 billion acquisition of rival DoubleClick by Google in April. Many of DoubleClick's customers also compete with Google for online users and may be hesitant to work with DoubleClick after the deal, aQuantive says.

"We think we can continue to win market share from DoubleClick as we have consistently over the past five years, and now we have the added opportunity of being the only independent player," aQuantive CEO Brian McAndrews said in a conference call for investors.

Still, the company's biggest asset -- its prime position in the booming Web market -- might also be its biggest drawback. Much of the company's strong first-quarter results have been driven from a revival of the mania for all things Web. In the event of another sudden downturn, aQuantive also has a lot to lose.

Much of aQuantive's unexpectedly strong quarterly revenue numbers were driven by the strength of its Digital Marketing Services unit, which helps companies design their Web sites, among other things.