By Xiyun Yang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 28, 2007

ComScore, an Internet data collection company based in Reston, netted an estimated $73.7 million in its initial public offering yesterday, and its shares rose more than 42 percent in the first day of trading.

ComScore offered 5.3 million shares of common stock at $16.50 each, the company said in a news release. Shares prices opened at $22 and climbed to a high of $24.39 before closing at $23.47.

The company, incorporated in 1999, collects data on the Web-surfing habits of 2 million people around the world and uses the data to measure Web traffic and shopping habits. It also publishes a monthly ranking of the Web's most popular sites.

ComScore makes most of its revenue from selling its survey data and analyses by subscription to clients such as Microsoft. Its 2006 revenue was $66.3 million. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company lists its main competitors as Nielsen Media Research and DoubleClick, a company Google recently proposed to acquire.

ComScore's first day illustrates that investors are optimistic about the potential for upstarts in an Internet marketing industry dominated by Google, said David Menlow, president of IPOFinancial.com, which tracks initial public offerings.

"It seems that people always feel that there's a better mousetrap out there," he said.

ComScore turned a profit for the first time in 2006, earning $5.7 million, compared with a $4.4 million loss in 2005. The company plans to use the money it raised from the IPO to expand its international operations, among other things. International sales accounted for 9 percent of revenue in fiscal 2006.

Underwriters, which include Credit Suisse, will have an option to buy an additional 795,000 shares within 30 days.

The stock trades under the symbol SCOR.