Register.com gains on strong 1Q

Register.com Inc. (Nasdaq: RCOM) rose 6 percent Tuesday after reporting a narrower than expected first quarter loss as domain name registrations increased by 180 percent over the fourth quarter.

Shares in the Internet domain name registrar hit a high of 64 7/16 Tuesday morning after rising 3 11/16 to 60 3/4 in after hours trading on Instinet. The stock had settled down to a gain of 2 13/16 to 59 7/8. Increasing domain registrations also boosted competitor Network Solutions' (Nasdaq: NSOL) first quarter metrics. Network Solutions is being acquired by VeriSign (Nasdaq: VSGN).

Net loss was $991,000, or 4 cents per share, versus a net loss of $1.1 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago period. First Call had expected a loss of 14 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter was $12.4 million compared to $747,300 in the first quarter of 1999.

Register.com, which completed its initial public offering in March, registered about 923,000 paid domain names during the quarter. As of the end of the first quarter, Register.com has $183.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments on its balance sheet and no debt.