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(Reuters) - MuleSoft Inc's (N:MULE) shares jumped as much as 52.5 percent in their debut on Friday, giving the enterprise software company a market capitalization of about $3.27 billion.
The IPO kicks off what is expected to be a string of more than a dozen offerings from enterprise software companies this year, including those that offer business process automation and cyber security services.
MuleSoft's debut is widely considered to be a better barometer of how so-called unicorn technology companies – firms worth $1 billion or more – fare in the public market, than the Snap Inc (N:SNAP) IPO it closely follows.
Snap's IPO earlier this month was an outlier in many respects and dwarfs any technology IPO expected this year. The messaging app raised $3.4 billion and earned a $24 billion valuation in the IPO, making it the largest U.S. tech deal since Facebook (O:FB) in 2012.
San Francisco-based MuleSoft makes software that automatically integrates disparate data, devices and applications to help businesses networks run faster.
The offering of 13 million shares was priced at $17 each on Thursday - above the expected range of $14-$16 - and raised about $221 million.
The company has more than 1,000 customers, including Coca-Cola Co, McDonald's Corp, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM), Spotify and Unilever (LON:ULVR).
MuleSoft's total revenue jumped 70 percent to $188 million in 2016, according to its IPO filings. The company is not profitable, but its losses narrowed to $50 million last year from $65 million in the previous year.
However, profitability has not really been a requirement for joining the so-called "unicorn" club - venture-backed private companies worth $1 billion or more.
Shares of software maker Twilio Inc (N:TWLO), which is also not profitable, are trading at about twice their IPO price.
MuleSoft's shares were up 48 percent at $25.18 after touching a high of $25.92.