NEW YORK (AP) - RealNetworks Inc. shares closed up 9.1 percent on Thursday as analysts and investors rallied around the online media company after it reported a small first-quarter profit and raised its forecast for the year.

Shares of the Seattle-based company rose 58 cents, or 9.1 percent, to close at $6.95 on the Nasdaq. The stock benefited from a number of Wall Street analysts delivering positive comments on the company`s first-quarter results, which were released after the bell on Wednesday.

RealNetworks posted earnings of $814,000, or nil per share, on revenue of $76.6 million for the first quarter. The company, which makes the RealPlayer digital media software, said it would have earned 2 cents per share if it hadn`t spent $3.7 million on antitrust litigation against Microsoft Inc.

``We grew our way back to profitability, which is what we wanted to do,`` RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser said.

And that growth was enough to excite analysts, who were also encouraged by the influence RealNetworks` new Rhapsody music service will have on future earnings.

Last week, RealNetworks announced it hopes to lure more paying music-lovers by expanding its online music subscription service to give users 25 free songs each month from a million-song library.

Revenue from music rose 86 percent to $22.2 million during the first quarter, outpacing game sales, which grew 80 percent to $12.2 million. Despite competition in the online music business, the company still expects to grow sales during the second quarter and raised expectations for the full year.

``The key for RealNetworks over the next few quarters will be to demonstrate strong revenue growth with its newly released Rhapsody product,`` Piper Jaffray analyst Aaron M. Kessler said in a report to clients. ``It will be critical for Rhapsody to cement its market share as the competition is increasing in the subscription business, with aggressive marketing from Napster and with Yahoo likely to enter the market over the next couple of months.``

Kessler maintained his ``Market Perform`` rating on the company, but lowered his price target to $5.80 from $6.

The company forecast second-quarter earnings of between breakeven and 1 cent per share on revenue of $79 million to $81 million, in line with analyst estimates for breakeven earnings on revenue of $77.7 million.

For the full year, RealNetworks expects earnings in the range of 2 cents to 4 cents per share on revenue of $320 million to $330 million. Previously, the company forecast revenue of $310 million to $320 million. The revised outlook is above Wall Street`s expectation for profit of a penny per share on revenue of $317.5 million.

Apple Computer Inc. shares closed up 47 cents to $36.68, Napster Inc. close up a penny at $6.22, and Yahoo Inc. fell 47 cents to close at $34.71. All trade on the Nasdaq.