Mela Sciences (NSDQ:MELA) was warned by the NASDAQ Stock Market that it must pull its shares above $1.00 or risk being de-listed by the stock exchange.
Shares of Mela, the Irvington, N.Y.-based skin cancer diagnostic device maker, haven’t been above the $1 mark since the 1st week of July and are down some 63% in 2013. Shares of MELA closed at 65¢ per share before the holiday weekend.
Under NASDAQ rules the company will be given a 180-day grace period to pull its shares above water for 10 consecutive days before February, 2014.
The news comes on the heels of a dramatic summer for the company. In June longtime CEO Joseph Gulfo resigned his post after 9-years leading the company, and in early August the company cut 25% of its staff following disappointing Q2 results.
Mela posted losses of $7.4 million, or 17¢ per diluted share, on sales of $144.4 million during the 3 months ended June 30, 2013. That compared to Q2 2012 losses of $5.5 million, or 18¢ per share, on sales of $75.8 million. Diluted per-share earnings were on par with analysts’ expectations at 17¢.
"While we are not pleased with the commercial traction that MelaFind has gained to date, we have embarked on the restructuring announced today along with several strategic initiatives to build a successful and profitable business," interim CEO Robert Coradini said at the time.
"We are prioritizing our target list of dermatologists and their practices based on their geographic location and the proper level of support our reps and field specialists can provide," Coradini said during the quarterly conference call. "This philosophy has guided the restructuring and as of today, we have realigned our field-based organization accordingly."
