SailPoint's initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday failed to ignite the tech IPO market, as the stock closed below its initial price on the first day of trading, dashing hopes of a revival in the sector.

The cybersecurity company's stock debuted at $23, but ended the first day's trading at a disappointing $22.75, failing to spark the kind of enthusiasm that investors had hoped for. While the stock did recover slightly on Friday, closing at over $24, it was still a far cry from the blockbuster IPOs that the tech industry has been accustomed to.

In contrast, the last tech IPO, ServiceTitan, was a wildly successful debut, with its share price popping from $71 to as high as $105 on the first day, and still trading at around $100. A similar success story from SailPoint would have been seen as a signal that the IPO window, which has been stuck closed for some time, was finally opening up again.

However, according to IPO expert Nick Einhorn, VP of research for Renaissance Capital, SailPoint's lackluster debut should not be taken as a sign of a lack of appetite for tech or software IPOs. "While the company has good growth, it may not have stood out enough in the cybersecurity landscape to be awarded a premium sales multiple," Einhorn noted.

SailPoint's IPO was unusual in that it wasn't a startup going public, but rather a company that had previously been public before being taken private by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2022, valuing it at $6.9 billion. This leveraged-buyout company's IPO was not typical of the venture-backed startups that often generate excitement among investors.

Despite the disappointing debut, SailPoint did manage to raise over $1.3 billion from its IPO, which it will use for operations and to pay off around $1.5 billion of debt. The company's market cap also received a boost, reaching around $13 billion, up from what Thoma Bravo paid. CEO Mark McClain was upbeat about the IPO, stating, "In no way did we consider this a disappointing IPO. We went from mid-point of $20 to a close of $25 on Day 2. In our minds, it's a very successful IPO."

However, for employees of late-stage startups holding paper-money stock and stock options, the signals remain murky, and SailPoint's IPO debut does little to suggest that the IPO window is opening up again anytime soon.