SolarWinds IPO Shines

Updated from 9:54 a.m. EDT

SolarWinds (SWI) became the first venture capital-backed company to go public in nearly a year after its initial public offering priced above the expected range, something President and COO Kevin Thompson called a "positive sign" for small companies in need of capital.

The Austin, Texas-based provider of network management software began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWI. The IPO priced at $12.50 a share, above the expected price range of $9.50 to $11.50 a share. SolarWinds offered 9 million shares, with an additional 3.1 million shares sold by existing stockholders.

Shares rose as high as $15.16 earlier in the session, and were lately up 18.4% at $14.80.

By pricing above its expected range, it became the third IPO to do so in the last year. Earlier this month, DigitalGlobe (DGI) raised $279 million after offering 14.7 million shares at $19 a share, above its expected range of $16 to $18.

In April, Rosetta Stone (RST), the language learning software provider, sold 6.25 million shares at $18 a share, above its proposed range of $15 to $17 a share.

During a phone interview after shares began trading Wednesday, SolarWinds President and COO Kevin Thompson said that the software company wasn't trying to time the market with its IPO, which has dramatically improved since hitting its recent lows in March.

"We filed back in early 2008, so as a company we've been getting prepared for quite a long time now," Thompson said. "We also don't believe in trying to time the market. Our goal is to build a large company and create a tremendous amount of value for our shareholders over time. We believe we're absolutely ripe to be a public company from an operational perspective."