Eloqua Inc., the maker of software used by companies including American Express Co., raised $92 million in a U.S. initial public offering, pricing the shares at the top of the proposed range.

Vienna, Virginia-based Eloqua and existing stockholders sold 8 million shares for $11.50 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They had offered the shares, a 25 percent stake, for $9.50 to $11.50 apiece.

Eloqua’s stock priced at about a 50 percent discount to other publicly traded Web-based software developers as it sought to enter a crowded field. Recent IPOs from ExactTarget Inc., Bazaarvoice Inc. and ServiceNow Inc. indicate investor demand for the stocks, and Gartner Inc. predicts the business will increase to $22.1 billion in 2015 from $12.3 billion last year.

The IPO price values Eloqua at about $368 million, or 4.4 times sales of $85 million in the 12 months through June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with an average of about 8.1 for a group of 14 other companies in the software-as-a-service business.

Web-based software lets companies save money by using programs via the cloud instead of storing them on their own servers. Eloqua’s products, which help companies tailor and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, range in price from $2,000 a month for 4-10 users to $6,400 a month for 250 users.

Revenue at Eloqua jumped 40 percent last year to $71.3 million. In the second quarter of 2012, sales rose 39 percent to $23.2 million from a year earlier. The company has more than 1,100 customers, including Adobe Systems Inc., American Express and Dell Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG led the offering. The stock will start trading Thursday, listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ELOQ.