AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVEO) received a deficiency letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that, for the last 30 consecutive business days, the bid price for the Company’s common stock had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Global Select Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the “Bid Price Rule”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) (the “Compliance Period Rule”), the Company has been provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until April 10, 2017 (the “Compliance Date”), to regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule. If, at any time before the Compliance Date, the bid price for the Company’s common stock closes at $1.00 or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days as required under the Compliance Period Rule, the Staff will provide written notification to the Company that it complies with the Bid Price Rule, unless the Staff exercises its discretion to extend this 10 day period pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(F).
If the Company does not regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule by the Compliance Date, the Company may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar day compliance period. To qualify, the Company would need to transfer the listing of its common stock to the Nasdaq Capital Market, provided that it meets the continued listing requirement for the market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards, with the exception of the bid price requirement. To effect such a transfer, the Company would also need to pay an application fee to Nasdaq and will need to provide written notice to the Staff of its intention to cure the deficiency during the additional compliance period.
If the Company does not regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule by the Compliance Date and is not eligible for an additional compliance period at that time, the Staff will provide written notification to the Company that its common stock may be delisted. At that time, the Company may appeal the Staff’s delisting determination to a NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel (“Panel”). The Company expects that its stock would remain listed pending the Panel’s decision. There can be no assurance that, if the Company does appeal the delisting determination by the Staff to the Panel, that such appeal would be successful.
The Company intends to monitor the closing bid price of its common stock and may, if appropriate, consider available options to regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule.
