Sourcefire Inc. / FIRE

About Sourcefire Inc.

9770 Patuxent Woods Dr., Columbia, Md. 21046
www.sourcefire.com | 410-290-1616 | Founded: 2001

Industry: Information Technology | Category: Top 100 Companies

The six-year-old company raised $86.3 million in its initial public offering in March of this year, selling shares at $15 each, above analysts' initial forecast of $12 to $14 a share.
But less than a month later, shares fell by 34 percent after the firm said its first-quarter loss could be as much as $2.6 million. Sourcefire's chairman and chief executive, E. Wayne Jackson III, attributed the loss to smaller-than-expected orders from a new account and delays in payments from federal customers.
Sourcefire said its first-quarter revenue was $10.5 million, up from $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2006. Profit was $8.2 million, up from $6.5 million.
In March 2006, the firm's work for intelligence agencies thwarted its proposed $225 million acquisition by Israeli security company Check Point Software Technologies. A federal committee expressed concern that the sale could threaten national security because Sourcefire's software is based on an open-source program, meaning that people can download it free and see how it is written.
Sourcefire, which has received about $57 million in venture capital funding since its launch in 2001, started preparing to go public shortly after the deal fell through.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 182 | Local employees: 126