Amyris, Inc. has concluded a successful IPO with shares changing hands at $16.55 after setting the initial offering at $16 per share, below its estimated price range of $16-18 per share. The company went public with a $650 market cap. With 5.3 million shares sold during the IPO, $85 million was raised with underwriters Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sach. Amyris is now traded on the Nasdaq under AMRS. Upon conclusion of the day’s trading, there were still 40.4 million shares outstanding.

According to Scott Sweet, an IPO analyst for IPO Boutique, it is not unusual for a deal to price below its estimated range. “In the case of Amyris, Morgan Stanley had orders below the prevailing range of $18-$20 (and) they chose to do the right thing and price where the deal worked at a discount,” Sweet said in an article in Market Watch. “I wish this was more the norm than the exception.”

Company CEO John Melo said in an interview at the Nasdaq with Market Watch, that the company has a diverse portfolio including developing yeast products for biotechnology, agriculture and fuel. The goal is for their yeast products to replace petrochemicals used in a multitude of products. And similar to many companies, Amyris has invested in Brazil and is researching the use of sugar cane to help develop new products. The company has partnered with Sao Martinho, one of Brazil’s largest sugar cane producers.

“Brazil is like the Saudi Arabia of biomass,” said Melo.

The Market Watch article reported that the money raised through the IPO is, “slated for several projects including the construction of engineering service capabilities to support sugar and ethanol mill conversion to integrate its technology.”