Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Exact Sciences changes trading markets, awaits delisting decision

By Mass High Tech Staff

The Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has notified cancer diagnostics firm Exact Sciences Corp. that its common stock will be moved from the Nasdaq Global market to the Nasdaq Capital Market, effective as of Nov. 28.

The Marlborough-based company currently fails to meet continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market. Under terms of the Nasdaq ruling, Exact Sciences (Nasdaq: EXAS) could still have its stock delisted if the company fails to provide the Nasdaq panel with its required plan for listing compliance. The Nasdaq panel will review Exact Sciences’ supplemental information and may come to a listing decision in early December.

In August, Exact Sciences received notice of its pending delistment, with Nasdaq citing the company’s failure to raise its market value to the minimum $50 million mark. At the time, the company said it planned to request a hearing.

In March, Exact retained an investment bank to seek a potential sale of the firm. The cancer diagnostic testing company uses applied genomics to develop patient-friendly screening technologies for use in the detection of cancer.

Exact reported a 2007 net loss of $11.96 million on revenue of $1.8 million, compared with a net loss $12.9 million on sales of $4.8 million in 2006.