Pricing on U.S. IPOs continued to show more strength this week, after three deals sold shares within or above their expected ranges and moved higher Thursday.

E-commerce website design software company Demandware Inc. (DWRE), semiconductor firm M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc. (MTSI), and heavy equipment transmission maker Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (ALSN) all rose in the morning session after pricing at the midpoint or higher of their planned ranges. Although Allison and M/A-COM's percentage gains were in the single digits, Demandware was up 51.1% in recent trading.

Their performance follows a trickle of deals that have had good first-day receptions after pricing above their ranges: software company Bazaarvoice Inc. (BV), prototype maker Proto Labs Inc. (PRLB), and business review website Yelp Inc. (YELP).

Though that amounts to a small set of data points, it's a hopeful sign U.S. IPOs could be getting their sea legs after a rough start in January and much of February. Even as the broader markets rose and volatility declined, investors were more cautious about buying IPOs in those first two months, and most deals ended up pricing below their expected ranges.

Investors certainly are far from being overly enthusiastic about every IPO, as could be seen in Thursday's performances. While software firm Demandware rose nearly 60% on its opening trade after pricing above its expected range, semiconductor company M/A-COM Technology made more modest gains, changing hands recently up 7.9%, after pricing at the high end of its range. Allison Transmission, a maker of automatic transmissions for large commercial vehicles, opened flat and was up less than 1% in recent trading after pricing at the midpoint of its expected range.

Cloud-based software applications like Demandware's have been attracting investors this year, but Demandware's market specialty and revenue structure was also alluring. The company makes software that businesses use to design and manage their e-commerce sites, and counts Barneys New York Inc., Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) and L'Oreal SA (OR.FR) among its customers.

Demandware derives the majority of its revenue through a revenue-sharing subscription arrangement with its customers, where customers pay a percentage of their total gross revenue that is processed on its platform. As part of the subscription, customers commit to a minimum amount of gross revenue processing, from which a minimum subscription fee is derived. If they generate more than the subscription minimum, they must pay additional fees. Such a pricing model locks in predictable revenue for Demandware while leaving room for some upside. In 2011, total revenue rose 54% to $56.5 million, while the company reported a loss of $1.4 million compared to net income of $309,000 in 2010. The company, which has existed since 2004, has only been profitable in 2010.

-By Lynn Cowan; 202-257-2740; lynn.cowan@dowjones.com

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