Overture Jumps on Yahoo! Surprise

Updated from April 25

Overture Services (OVER Quote) jumped 33% Friday morning after it offered a rash of good news Thursday evening.

The pay-per-view Internet search engine posted a first-quarter profit of 48 cents a share, nearly half again as much as the analyst consensus estimate and reversing a year-ago 13-cent loss. Overture also boosted second-quarter and full-year financial targets, saying advertisers continue to pay the company more for placement in Overture's search results.

And perhaps most important, execs said in a postclose earnings conference call that Overture has extended by three years its affiliation with Yahoo! (YHOO Quote). The stock jumped $8.46 Friday morning to $34.09.

To and Fro

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