Upgrade sends ICG shares soaring

A good word from an analyst sent shares of Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE) higher Monday.

The Internet investment company's stock rose as much as 31 percent Monday morning as one of the most active Nasdaq stocks after Robertson Stephens upgraded ICGE to "strong buy" from a "buy" rating and set a 12- to 18-month price target of $250 per share. In late morning activity, ICG was up 29 11/16 to 148 3/4, a 25 percent gain for the day.

The upgrade from Robertson Stephens analyst Eric Upin comes two days ahead of ICG's investment conference, scheduled for this Wednesday.

ICG shares slid in January and February, largely on fears about the expiration of lock-ups that prevented insiders from selling for several months after the company's initial public offering last year. Including today's gains, ICG has risen more than 53 percent since last week.

All 11 analysts polled by Zack's Investment Research maintain some sort of "buy" rating on ICG.>