So Far So Good For Eloqua IPO – Shares Up 13% In First Day of Trading

The marketing automation sector is one of the fastest growing in the burgeoning enterprise space. We see proof of this today with Eloqua’s initial public offering.

The stock opened at $12.02 per share on the NASDAQ for the SaaS provider of performance management technology. It was up 12.92% in trading  from its $11.50 original stock price. The company sold eight million shares. It had a price range of $10-to-$12 per share.

Eloqua is halfway through its fiscal year. In 2011 the company had revenues of $71.3 million, up 40%. In 2011, the company has 327 employees. That’s up 15% compared to 2010.ffer as a software as a service (SaaS).

According to WSJ, Eloqua’s revenue increased 42% to $45 million this year, although the company reported a net loss of $5.5 million, compared with a loss of $3.5 million in the first half of the prior year.

The marketing automation space is highly competitive. Eloqua faces competing from giants like IBM and Oracle. Newer players such as Marketo and Pardot are also considered as competitors.