Shareholders voted in favor of the split at its annual meeting on June 10. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based surgical robot maker’s board of directors determined the final ratio within a range authorized by shareholders. Vicarious says it intends for the split to increase its per share trading price, bringing it into compliance with the NYSE.
In September, the company announced that the NYSE notified it of non-compliance with its listing requirements. Vicarious Surgical’s average closing price of Class A common stock fell below $1 per share over a consecutive 30-trading-day period. Shares currently sit at 29¢ apiece nine months later.
Vicarious Surgical expects the split to go into effect at 4:15 p.m. on June 12, 2024. At the time of the split, every 30 shares of common stock will be combined into one share of common stock. This reduces the number of Class A shares issued and outstanding from approximately 156,762,690 to approximately 5,225,423 and the number of shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding from approximately 19,619,760 to approximately 653,992. The total authorized number of shares of common stock remains the same, according to a news release.
What events led up to the reverse stock split at Vicarious Surgical?
The Vicarious Surgical robotic platform, currently called Version 1.0 (V1.0), aims to increase the efficiency of surgical procedures. The company hopes to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
With a novel approach, V1.0 uses proprietary, human-like surgical robots to transport surgeons inside the patient to perform minimally invasive surgery.
The company endured an up-and-down 2023, first sharing its intent to raise $45 million amid positive developments for its robot. Vicarious Surgical also named former Olympus executive Randy Clark president of the company. With first-in-human trials slated for mid-2024, analysts expect commercialization sometime in 2025.
However, in addition to the September setback with the NYSE, the company started 2023 by cutting 14% of its workforce.
CEO Adam Sachs pushed V1.0’s timeline back in November 2023 amid more workforce reductions. The company outlined plans for a build and integration in fall 2024. Then, Sachs earmarked early- to mid- 2026 for that de novo submission.
As of March 2024, Vicarious still plans to have its V1.0 system ready for an FDA submission by early- to mid-fiscal 2026. Analysts said the company expects to begin cadaveric testing in the spring ahead of final software and hardware refinements. Integration remains on track for the fall.
“We are well positioned to execute upon our 2024 milestones and look forward to our spring cadaveric testing, and completing the integration of our Version 1.0 system this fall,” Sachs said in March.
