NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Veridian Corp., the latest defense-related initial public offering, shot up as much as 13 percent early Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Veridian (VNX: Research, Estimates) hit a high of $18, up $2 from their $16 offer price, before falling. At 10:06 a.m. ET, the stock traded at $17.75.

Veridian late Tuesday raised $216 million when it sold 13.5 million shares at $16 each via Credit Suisse First Boston. The company had planned to sell 12.5 million shares at $15 to $17 each.

The company is the latest defense related offering to go public. SRA International Inc. (SRX: Research, Estimates), which provides information technology consulting for federal government agencies, gained nearly 27 percent in its market debut in May.

Arlington, Va.-based Veridian specializes in national security programs specifically for the intelligence community, the Department of Defense, U.S. governmental agencies and law enforcement. The company also is a leader in the research and development of sensor technology for defense and intelligence actions.

The Pentagon accounted for 45 percent of Veridian's 2001 revenue while U.S. intelligence agencies comprised about 43 percent.

In the latest quarter, Arlington, Va.-based Veridian reported $2.5 million in income on $176.6 million in revenue compared with a $4.2 million loss on $162.7 million in revenue a year earlier.