SciQuest executives, including CEO Stephen Wiehe, center, rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq stock market in New York City's Times Square this morning.

The ceremony came as the Cary technology company and its investors raised millions more on Wall Street by selling 4.7 million additional shares.

SciQuest made its debut on the Nasdaq after an initial public offering of stock in September, the first IPO by a Triangle tech company in years.

This week's so-called secondary offering raised more money to expand its business, and increased the number of shares on the market. It also allowed the company's early investors to cash out some of their holdings.

SciQuest shares, which began trading last fall at $9.50, fell 22 cents to $14.30 today.

Read today's full report on the company's stock sale here.

SciQuest and several investors sold 4.7 million shares this morning, marking the Cary technology company's second trip to Wall Street in six months.

SciQuest went public in an initial public offering of stock in September. Today's so-called secondary offering allows it to raise more money to expand its business, and increase the number of shares on the market.

"Our goal was to put a mix of new and existing investors in the business, and we were able to add some good ones," said CEO Stephen Wiehe.

Wiehe spent the past two weeks meeting with more than 100 mutual fund managers and other investors in 12 cities, selling SciQuest's story.

On Friday, he will join other SciQuest executives and ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq stock market in Times Square.

The Durham technology company that helps smartphone providers build online "apps stores" has attracted another $10 million from another big-name investor.

Appia, which changed its name from PocketGear in February, received the latest money from Venrock, a veteran Silicon Valley firm established as the venture-capital arm of the Rockefeller family.

Last summer, Appia raised $15 million from the venture firm of Google CEO Eric Schmidt and a fund affiliated with Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices.

"We're seeing an acceleration in our business," said Appia founder and CEO Jud Bowman. "A CEO's job is to ensure a business has capital to go after the opportunities in front of it."

Former White House press secretary and N.C. State alumnus Robert Gibbs is in talks to join Facebook, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

The social networking site is interested in hiring Gibbs for a senior communications role as it prepares for a possible initial public offering in early 2012, the paper reported. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is often the public face of the company, may be interested in having help communicating his message to the media and investors.

Gibbs, who left the White House in February after two years on the job, had been planning to help establish President Obama’s re-election campaign before taking a private sector job, the Times reported.

Cree's struggles in China aren't over.

The Durham company, one of the Triangle's most successful technology ventures, reported this morning that its financial results for the quarter that ends March 27 will be weaker than expected.

Cree blamed slower sales of its LED lighting products and "more aggressive pricing." In January, the company warned of declining demand for LEDs used in street lights in China.

Lord Corp. is running out of room on its Cary campus.

The board of the private company recently approved adding a new 51,000 square-foot office building. But executives first plan to discuss with Cary and state officials about potential incentives to help foot the bill.

"It's the right thing to do for our shareholders," CEO Rick McNeel said.

But he declined to comment on specifics, or whether incentives are a key factor in Lord Corp.'s decision to expand in Cary or somewhere else.

Cisco Systems, a major Triangle employer and one of the world's most widely held stocks, will pay its first cash dividend.

The California technology company announced this morning that it will pay 6 cents a share on April 20 to shareholders as of March 31. That's a dividend yield of about 1.4 percent, Bloomberg News reported.

Cisco is returning cash to its investors to boost shares that have fallen 35 percent in the past year. Wall Street soured on the company as sales growth slows and competition increases.

While the Triangle is home to dozens of promising young companies backed by venture capitalists, only one made an exclusive list.

Appia, the Durham company that helps mobile-phone companies build online "apps stores" is the only local firm on the Wall Street Journal's 2011 list of the top 50 venture-funded companies.

The list, which is stocked mostly with California health and technology firms, puts Appia at No. 15.

The newspaper considered 5,743 venture-backed companies to find those with "the greatest promise to succeed."

SciQuest's IPO in September was successful enough that the Cary company will seek more cash on Wall Street.

The technology company filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission late today to sell nearly 4 million shares.

SciQuest will sell 1 million new shares to raise more money for various purposes, including possible acquisitions. That move will dilute the value of existing shares, which could hurt the stock price, at least in the short term.

Shareholders, including venture capital firms that invested in SciQuest early on, will sell 2.9 million shares they hold. Those firms include Trinity Ventures of California and Intersouth Partners of Durham.

SciQuest sold shares in its initial public offering last fall at $9.50 each. Since then, the stock has climbed as its business steadily expands.

SciQuest, the Cary company that helps drug makers, universities and others buy goods more cheaply online, reported stronger quarterly sales.

The company held an initial public offering of stock in September, and remains the only Triangle technology company to make a successful Wall Street debut during the recent stock-market rally.

SciQuest ended the year with 195 customers, up from 156 at the end of 2009. One addition was the State University of New York at Stony Brook, one of the largest ever for SciQuest. CEO Stephen Wiehe expects that winning that school will help SciQuest win others in the state of New York system.

"SciQuest ended 2010 on a high note," Wiehe told analysts on a conference call. "We believe we are entering 2011 in a very strong position to continue our profitable growth."