IPC The Hospitalist Co. on Wednesday announced a public offering of 3.5 million common shares at $18.50, a 1 percent discount on the stock’s Tuesday closing price.

The North Hollywood-based manager of hospital-based physician practices, which went public in January, agreed to sell nearly 1.14 million common shares, and other stockholders agreed to sell 2.36 million shares.

The offering is expected to close on July 21. IPC has about 14.9 million shares outstanding.

Interest in the offering is expected to be high, even though IPC last month projected second-quarter financials below Wall Street expectations. IPC shares on Wednesday jumped $1.39, or 7 percent, to close at $20.12 in Nasdaq trading.