EV maker requests hearing with Nasdaq listing panel, to hold off a delisting
Shares of Mullen Automotive Inc. continued their slide into record-low territory Thursday after the electric-vehicle maker received a delisting determination.
The EV maker said it received the determination letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market’s Listing Qualifications Department, as the company failed to meet the Sept. 5 deadline to regain compliance with the $1 minimum bid requirement for its stock.
The stock MULN, -5.64% dropped 11.2% in morning trading, after closing Wednesday at a record low of 45 cents.
The company said it requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel to request an extension and to present its plan to regain compliance.
If the company didn’t request a hearing, the stock was set to be delisted on Sept. 15. Mullen said the panel has the discretion to grant an extension on the minimum bid requirement for an additional 180 days.
“Ultimately, there is no guarantee that the Panel will grant an extension of the compliance period,” Mullen said in a statement.
Mullen’s stock has closed below $1 since Aug. 16, even after the company implemented a 1-for-25 reverse stock split effective May 4 and a 1-for-9 reverse split that was effective Aug. 11.
The reverse splits, which have effectively multiplied the stock price by 225, were intended to bring the company into compliance with the $1 bid requirement.
The stock’s selloff continued even as the company said it began a $25 million share-repurchase program on Aug. 16, with Chief Executive David Michery saying: “We believe that our stock is undervalued.”
In an open letter to investors released Aug. 23, Michery said he didn’t believe the stock’s price “even closely resembles the company’s actual value,” as Mullen has met “significant corporate milestones,” including vehicle production.
The company’s market capitalization at current stock prices is about $74.3 million, which compares with a high of more than $860 million in March 2022, according to FactSet data.
In July, the company said it retained a law firm to help it combat what it believed were illegal market-manipulation tactics by traders to push the stock lower.
The stock has plummeted 91.4% over the past three months through Wednesday.