KAYAK, Palo Alto Rally in Upbeat Public Debuts

Travel search engine KAYAK Software (NASDAQ:KYAK) and security software maker Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) leaped into the public markets on Friday with healthy double-digit pops.

The pair of strong debuts comes as the initial public offering market attempts to bounce back from the flubbed Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO in May. While Palo Alto and KAYAK’s debuts went off without a hitch, instrument maker Fender Musical Instruments pulled the plug on its planned IPO.

After pricing its sale of 3.5 million shares at $26 a piece late Thursday, KAYAK opened at $30.10 a share Friday morning, representing a solid 15.77% increase. KAYAK had expected an IPO range of $22 to $25.

Partially due to the Facebook fiasco, KAYAK’s debut has been long delayed as the company had IPO documents on file for 18 months.

Like Facebook, KAYAK was brought public by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and is debuting on the Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ).

In recent action, KAYAK’s shares were up 26.08% to $32.77.

Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks opened at $55.15 a share, good for an impressive 31% post-IPO leap.

The software company priced its offering of 6.2 million shares at $42 a share late Thursday, above its expected range of $38 to $40. Palo Alto raised its expected price range from $34 to $37 originally.

Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Palo Alto builds security software for businesses and generated $118.6 million in revenue last year, doubling its year-earlier period. It posted a net loss of $12.5 million from $21.1 million the year earlier.

The IPO was also managed by Morgan Stanley in addition to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C). However, Palo Alto debuted on NYSE Euronext’s (NYSE:NYX) New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Palo Alto were recently up 33.76% to $56.18.

On the other hand, Fender Musical Instruments withdrew its planned debut due to “current market conditions,” including “concerns about economic conditions in Europe.”