Shares of United Online Inc. rose nearly 8 percent Friday after the company announced the closure of a federal probe into its Classmates.com Web site.

The Federal Trade Commission had launched a probe into the popular reunion site over its automatic renewal policy and other subscription issues. The Woodland Hills-based Internet services company announced the FTC had closed the probe.

The announcement follows a decision this week by United Online citing poor market conditions to pull its planned initial public offering of Classmates.com. The withdrawal caused a 10 percent stock decline but prompted a Jefferies & Co. analyst Friday to raise his United Online rating to “buy.”

“Disappointment over withdrawal of the Classmates IPO has pressured United Online to a point where the valuation today fails to reflect the intrinsic value of the access and Classmates franchises,” said analyst Youssef Squali in his report.

Shares were up 7.9 percent to $12.12 in early trading Friday on the Nasdaq.