Infoblox Busts Big IPO Move

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Shares of Infoblox(BLOX) climbed rapidly on the company's debut as a public company on Friday, just a day after big data specialist Splunk(SPLK) enjoyed a massive IPO pop.

Network automation specialist Infoblox priced its shares at $16 a share on Thursday. The company's stock was up $5.55, or 34.69%, to $21.55 in afternoon trading as investor appetite for tech IPOs continued. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Infoblox opened at $22.50.

A rival of BMC(BMC) and Alcatel-Lucent(ALU) , Infoblox touts the ability to help companies manage their rapidly expanding and increasingly complex network infrastructures. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm lists semiconductor specialist Marvell(MRVL) , IBM(IBM) , Best Buy(BBY) and TiVo(TIVO) as customers

Infoblox brought in revenue of $132.8 in 2011, up from $61.7 million in 2009. The company's net loss also narrowed over the same period, from $10.4 million in 2009 to $5.3 million in 2011.

Another tech company, security software maker Proofpoint(PFPT) began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday, with shares climbing $1.01 cents, or 7.77%, to $14.01. The Microsoft(MSFT) and VMware(VMW) partner priced its offering at $13 a share.

Splunk shares slipped 0.08% to $35.45 on Friday after closing up 108.71% on Thursday, when the company made its Nasdaq debut.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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