SolarWinds shares up 13 percent in debut

NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - SolarWinds Inc (SWI.N) stock rose 13 percent in its trading debut Wednesday, putting it on pace to be the sixth consecutive U.S. IPO to have a first-day jump.

After trading as high as $15.16, SolarWinds shares eased by mid-morning on the New York Stock Exchange, changing hands for $14.18, or about 13 percent over the initial public offering price.

"Tech stocks have been mixed this year, but firms realize they have to be productive so they are renewing their equipment," said Linda Killian, a principal with Connecticut-based investment firm Renaissance Capital.

"There was scarcity to this deal," Killian added, explaining SolarWinds' strong pricing and debut.

The company's strong profitability was also a major draw for investors, another analyst said.

"For every dollar of added top line revenue, SolarWinds gets a bigger percentage of profit increase than their competitors, who have lower profit margins," said Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPO Desktop.

SolarWinds shares opened at $15 the morning after the Austin, Texas-based company sold 12.1 million shares at $12.50 apiece, raising $151.5 million in the first IPO by a venture-backed technology company in the United States in nine months.

The IPO offer price had exceeded the estimate range in an oversubscribed deal.

If SolarWinds holds on to this first-day jump, it will be the sixth consecutive IPO on a U.S. exchange to do so this year, following such companies as satellite image maker DigitalGlobe Inc (DGI.N), whose shares jumped 13 percent in their debut last week, and language-instruction company Rosetta Stone Inc (RST.N), which rose 40 percent after its IPO.

SolarWinds' IPO was the sixth in the United States so far this year.