AST Research Inc., a fast-growing Irvine computer...

AST Research Inc., a fast-growing Irvine computer product maker, announced Friday that it expects to sell 1.4 million shares of its common stock largely to raise cash to handle its expansion.

Approximately 800,000 shares will be newly issued, with the remainder sold by founding members of the five-year-old company. AST’s initial common stock offering in December, raised $13 million by selling 2.4 million shares.

The company expects the second offering to also raise nearly $13 million if its stock stays at the current level of about $17 per share when the new offering goes to market.