SolarWinds IPO gets enthusiastic response from investors

It looks like investors couldn't wait to get a piece of SolarWinds (SWI). The venture-backed tech company's IPO priced this morning at $12.50 a share, about a dollar more than expected. By midday it had risen about 14 percent to $14.28.

That's great news for SolarWinds and its backers, but it may not be the long-awaited sign that the window of opportunity for IPOs is opening after months of being firmly slammed shut. SolarWinds has a 10-year record of profitability, a customer list that includes 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and the support of some of the sharpest venture capital investors around. If anything, its success suggests a sterling pedigree still goes a long way but riskier companies may have a harder slog on their way to going public.