SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — LinkedIn Corp.'s shares climbed more than 6 percent Wednesday after an investment research report weighed in with a favorable opinion about the online professional network's growth prospects.

THE SPARK: A group of Internet analysts working for Jefferies highlighted their first research report on LinkedIn with a forecast that the company's stock price will rise to $142 within the next year. That's 16 percent above LinkedIn's peak price of $122.70 per share reached within the first few hours of trading during the company's stock market debut in May 2011.

The Jefferies' analysts based their forecast on the view that LinkedIn's earnings will steadily rise as more people post their resumes on a service that has become the equivalent of the world's biggest digital Rolodex. About 174 million members had listed their job histories on LinkedIn through June, up from 72 million profiles two years ago.