Ceres, a Thousand Oaks-based agriculture-biotechnology company, priced shares at 40 cents each on Dec. 15 for its follow-on public offering on Dec. 17.

Ceres plans to raise $6.7 million through the offering, which will be comprised of 600,000 shares of common stock, 6,460 shares of preferred stock convertible into 16,150,000 shares of common stock, and warrants to purchase 16,750,000 shares of common stock.

Shares of Class A stock will be priced at 40 cents per share. Class B shares will sell for $1,000 each.

Ceres shares jumped 373 percent Aug. 12 from 95 cents per share to $4.80 per share after the company received a patent for its iCODE multi-gene trait development system.

The iCODE system was developed to rapidly create, select and develop combinations of genes and traits for genetically-modified crops. The system uses a plant’s own cells to create new combinations of genes. Ceres said iCODE will create new discoveries and allow smaller research companies to compete against giants like Monsanto in the industry.

Ceres President and CEO Richard Hamilton said in an Aug. 12 news release the iCODE system could create new intellectual property of genes.

“Seed and trait companies rely on intellectual property protection, and iCODE could play a key role for companies attempting to access this new IP landscape. The first to unlock the potential will have a significant advantage in this area,” Hamilton said.

Ceres Inc. was founded in 1996. The company develops and markets seeds and seed traits to produce crops which can increase productivity, improve quality and reduce the amount of resources used while growing crops.

• Contact Philip Joens at pjoens@pacbiztimes.com.