Everbridge stock up 27 after debut Burlington-based firm is 2nd Mass. IPO this year By Curt Woodward GLOBE STAFF Stock-market investors welcomed Friday's debut of Everbridge Inc., boosting shares of the Burlington-based emergency communications software company 27 percent in its first day of trading. Everbridge raised $75 million Thursday by selling its shares at $12 apiece, while some previous investors sold another $15 million worth of shares. The stock opened at $12.30 Friday morning on the Nasdaq and closed at $15.25. It was the second initial public offering of a Massachusetts-based technology company this year, following May's $103.5 million IPO of Maynard telecom equipment maker Acacia Communications Inc. Only one Massachusetts tech company, security software maker Rapid7 Inc., went public last year. Everbridge's software controls emergency-alert systems for government and corporate clients. Those systems can be used to broadcast evacuation orders or locate far-flung employees, routing the information over land-line phone or wireless Internet networks if cellular towers are jammed with traffic. Chief executive Jaime Ellertson said the company's management team has years of experience at multiple public companies, which could give Everbridge an edge as it seeks to grow under new scrutiny. "Having the experience of doing it not once or twice, but multiple times across our entire management team will help," Ellertson said. "We believe we've got the scale and the growth to prove ourselves as a public company." Ellertson also said he was "delighted" to plump up the region's roster of publicly traded companies. But beyond cash and hometown pride, he said the IPO should lend a stamp of legitimacy that will help Everbridge win sales pitches and hire more people. The company has about 430 employees worldwide, with more than 200 at its Burlington headquarters, and is advertising about 50 job openings, Ellertson said. Everbridge has more than 3,000 customers around the world, including eight of the 10 largest US investment banks and 24 of North America's busiest airports. Everbridge's system has been used in several high-profile emergency situations. Boston officials employed the software to marshal police and firefighters during the Marathon bombings, while Sony Pictures relied on Everbridge to communicate with thousands of employees after the studio's regular systems were crippled in a 2014 hacking attack. The company has grown its sales rapidly in recent years, but has not yet turned a profit. Everbridge got close to break-even in 2013 and 2014, but expenses jumped last year, when Everbridge lost $10.8 million on sales of $58.7 million. Ellertson said the increased spending helped Everbridge add several new products and expand its sales and marketing campaigns, which he said would help the company quickly return to a more sustainable financial path. Ellertson said Everbridge is different from some other high-growth subscription-software companies "that seem to spend $2 for every $1 they make," a model that has drawn skepticism on Wall Street. "I think what you're seeing in our business is a slightly more mature and seasoned team that is able to deliver high growth and recurring revenue," he said. Curt Woodward can be reached at curt.woodwardglobe.com.