UPDATE 1-Rue21 shares soar 26 pct in Nasdaq debut

* Rue21 shares start trading at $24, up 26.3 pct over IPO

* Rue21 shares at $23.33 in early Nasdaq trading

* Shares up as much as 22.8 percent

NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Shares of youth apparel
retailer rue21 Inc (RUE.O) rose in their debut on the Nasdaq,
opening 26.3 percent over Thursday's initial public offering
and putting the company on pace for one of the biggest
first-day performances of an IPO this year.

Rue21, which operates 500 stores in the United States
geared at youths, raised a total of about $128.5 million in the
IPO, which priced at $19, above expectations.

In midmorning trade on the Nasdaq, shares were being quoted
at $23.33, up 22.8 percent.

The Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based retailer itself is
selling 1.65 million shares in the offering, while stockholders
such BNP Paribas North America (BNPP.PA) are selling 6.77
million shares.

Funds advised by private equity firm Apax Partners, which
is the largest stockholder, are not selling any shares in the
IPO. Their stake in rue21 will fall to 57.9 percent from 62.2
percent.

Rue21's same-store sales, or sales at stores open for at
least a year, rose 4.1 percent in the six months ended Aug. 1,
2009, while overall sales rose 33.3 percent to $233.1 million,
with net income of $8.3 million.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Phil Wahba, editing by Matthew
Lewis)