Shares of ValueClick Inc., the online marketing firm based in Westlake Village, rose after UBS announced Wednesday it had started following the stock.

Boston-based broker UBS gave ValueClick an initial rating of “neutral” and a 12-month target price of $23 per share. However, the stock blew past that target and was trading at $23.50 in late-day trading Thursday. It had closed Wednesday at $22.19.

In his first assessment, analyst Benjamin Schachter cited a pending Federal Trade Commission investigation of ValueClick and competition from bigger online companies as balancing ValueClick’s strong assets. Investors should “wait for more clarity on key growth drivers before buying the stock,” Schachter wrote, in keeping with the neutral rating.