Hoku Scientific Inc.'s initial public offering drew a tepid response from investors yesterday, with the company's stock falling 11 percent to $5.36 a share in the first day of trading.

The Honolulu-based maker of fuel-cell membranes sold 3.5 million shares at $6 a share in its IPO, below both its original price range of $11 to $13 and a revised range of $8 to $9.

Underwriters also cut the number of shares offered by the company to 3.5 million shares from 4.2 million, according to an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hoku intends to use net proceeds from the IPO to build a combined office, research and development and manufacturing facility, to continue product research and development, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Piper Jaffray, SG Cowen & Co. and Thomas Weisel Partners LLC were listed as underwriters for the offering. The underwriters also have an option to purchase up to 525,000 additional shares to meet demand.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Hoku posted a net loss of $728,000, compared with a net loss of $2.87 million for fiscal 2004.

Hoku, which has 20 employees, develops the membrane, or engine, that drives fuel cells.

Hoku's products are geared toward markets such as energy production for homes and autos, and its customers include Sanyo Electric Co., Nissan Motor Co. and the U.S. Navy. The market for fuel cells is projected to grow from $318 million this year to $3.9 billion by by 2009, according to a previous Hoku filing with the SEC.