First day Starent shares shoot up

Starent Networks Corp. shares shot up more than 15 percent in their first trading day today as investors rushed to buy a stake in the newly public wireless infrastructure company.

Starent shares gained $1.81, or 15.1 percent, to $13.81 by midday. They had traded as high as $14.30 earlier in the session.

The Tewksbury, Mass.-based company Tuesday evening priced its initial public offering of 10.5 million shares at $12 per share, higher than the $9 and $11 previously expected. The company is selling 9 million of the shares, with stockholders offering the rest.

The company has granted its underwriters -- which include Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners -- an option to buy up to 1.6 million additional shares to cover any over-allotments.

Starent makes hardware and software allowing wireless carriers to offer multimedia services. Its clients include China Unicom, Virgin Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless.

The company trades under the ticker symbol "STAR." (AP)