(Reuters) - Nasdaq is proposing amendments to its rules pertaining to penny stocks to put a faster, more stringent delisting process in place for non-compliant companies, according to a filing posted on the exchange operator's website on Thursday.
Nasdaq requires companies listed on its exchanges to maintain a closing price above $1. Companies that fail to meet this criterion for 30 consecutive trading days are deemed to be non-compliant with the listing standards and are given 180 days to regain compliance.
Penny stocks typically sell for less than $1 a share.
If the company's stock price doesn't climb above $1 after 180 trading days, it can request a second 180-day compliance window.
At the end of the second compliance period, companies whose stock remains under $1 currently have the option of appealing to Nasdaq's hearings panel, which puts the delisting process on pause until a hearing.
However, the proposed changes could speed up the process of delisting non-compliant companies.
If the amendments go through, Nasdaq will suspend companies from trading on its exchanges if their share price has been below $1 on the completion of 360 trading days, effectively doing away with the option to appeal.
It also seeks to immediately send a delisting determination to any company whose share price has fallen below $1, if it has effected a reverse stock split within the prior one-year period.
Some companies, usually those in financial distress or experiencing prolonged operational downturns, have been observed to engage in a pattern of repeated stock splits, according to the filing, made on Tuesday.
"Nasdaq believes that such behavior is often indicative of deep financial or operational distress within such companies rendering them inappropriate for trading on Nasdaq for investor protection reasons," the exchange operator said in the filing.
Companies often carry out reverse stock splits to boost the stock's price by reducing the number of outstanding shares.
Nasdaq declined to comment in response to a request from Reuters.
The two proposed changes to Nasdaq's listing standards are subject to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.