• by Laurie Petersen , July 19, 2007

Shares of Yahoo weakened after the release of its quarterly earnings this week and analysts openly speculated Wednesday whether the online giant could be a potential buyout candidate.

Yahoo's stock price has dropped nearly 20% in the past three months, and slipped 5% after quarterly earnings and a modest outlook were released on Tuesday.

In a research note, Youssef Squali of Jefferies said investors will likely give the new management team 12-18 months to turn the business around, after which pressure may grow for a sale.

"We continue to view Yahoo as a 'value' pick, given its valuation, its strong brand and its unique set of assets that make it an attractive acquisition target," wrote Squali, who has a buy rating with a $34 price target on the stock.

Google and Microsoft are scheduled to release earnings today.

Meanwhile, shares of ValueClick have climbed more than 5%, and are back over $30 on positive analyst reaction to Monday's announcement that the company plans to acquire comparison shopping site operator MeziMedia for up to $352 million.

Stanford Group analyst Clayton Moran increased his price target for the stock to $40 from $35, calling MeziMedia "a high-margin business with strong growth ... complementary to ValueClick's existing assets."