Shares of Angie's List Inc, which provides consumer reviews of local professionals and businesses, rose as much as 22 percent Thursday, after the company reported a surge in paid memberships and forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates.

The company, which went public last November in a hugely successful IPO, added 159,289 new members in the fourth quarter, up 87 percent from the year-ago period.

For the first quarter, the consumer review website expects revenue between $29 million and $30 million. Analysts expected revenue of $28.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company, which competes with Yelp Inc, rose to $17.58 in morning trade, making them among the biggest percentage gainers on the Nasdaq. They pared some gains to trade up 17 percent at $16.86 later in the morning.

The stock, which debuted at $18 in November, has since lost a fifth of its value, excluding today's gains.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)