NASDAQ Offers Life To Hundreds of Stocks (NDAQ, CHTR, FNSR, LVLT, OPWV, PEIX, PWAV, PWAV, RFMD, SANM, SIRI, SPSN)

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is making it easier for the army of relatively new penny stocks to maintain their listings on NASDAQ.  The exchange filed with the SEC to extend its suspension of the rules requiring a minimum $1.00 bid price and its minimum market value of publicly held shares.  This was initially set to expire in January, but the terms will now be extended until Monday, April 20, 2009.  With as many stocks that have violated that $1.00 mark in recent weeks and months, this is hardly a surprise and it would even go against the exchange’s own interests to boot this many stocks off the exchange.

We ran a screen for NASDAQ stocks with active trading volume, share prices under $1.00, and those which have traded over $1.00 in the last 52-weeks.  Some of the most usual suspects here are as follows:

Name        Symbol                        Price    Mkt Cap   Avg Vol       52-wk Range
Autobytel Inc. (ABTL)                    $0.40    18.09M    255,678        0.31 – 3.30
Beacon Power Corporation (BCON) $0.62    61.40M    973,758       0.50 – 2.18
BankUnited Financial (BKUNA)       $0.24    8.61M    612,080         0.24 – 8.00
Charter Communications (CHTR)    $0.13    53.58M    5,062,670     0.11 – 1.68
Candela Corporation (CLZR)           $0.53    12.12M    195,383        0.31 – 5.93
Cosi, Inc. (COSI)                           $0.25    10.19M    197,683        0.25 – 3.24
Eddie Bauer Holdings (EBHI)          $0.51    15.72M    288,632        0.30 – 8.72
8×8 Inc (EGHT)                              $0.47    29.30M    157,789        0.40 – 1.30
Emmis Communications (EMMS)    $0.41    14.91M    202,774        0.25 – 4.27
Finisar Corporation (FNSR)             $0.40    171.83M   3,241,740     0.29 – 1.96
Glu Mobile Inc. (GLUU)                   $0.44    13.02M    92,946.2       0.22 – 5.77
Globalstar, Inc. (GSAT)                   $0.22    26.35M    634,428        0.17 – 9.50
ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (IMOS) $0.19    15.95M    538,883        0.18 – 4.39
Jones Soda Co. (JSDA)                  $0.38    10.02M    154,182        0.31 – 8.20
Jupitermedia Corporation (JUPM)     $0.44    15.83M    112,874        0.20 – 4.03
SourceForge, Inc. (LNUX)                $0.96    61.58M    345,160        0.32 – 2.59
Level 3 Communications (LVLT)       $0.70    1.13B    25,960,200      0.60 – 4.48
MRV Communications (MRVC)        $0.80    125.74M    522,931      0.21 – 2.57
Openwave Systems Inc (OPWV)      $0.64    52.99M    400,640        0.45 – 2.89
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX)              $0.72    41.59M    591,114        0.50 – 9.88
Powerwave Technologies (PWAV)    $0.48    64.25M    2,752,260     0.35 – 5.30
RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD)        $0.94    247.34M    5,364,060    0.70 – 6.00
Sanmina-SCI Corporation (SANM)    $0.52    279.31M    5,529,640    0.27 – 2.66
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SIRI)               $0.14    491.88M    55,366,100  0.08 – 3.89
Spansion Inc. (SPSN)                      $0.22    35.81M    1,428,130     0.20 – 4.29
NextWave Wireless Inc (WAVE)       $0.10    9.90M       577,515       0.07 – 7.59
Xinhua Finance Media (XFML)           $0.61    43.60M    333,146        0.31 – 6.71

If you think about this, there is also a financial incentive.  Ifhundreds of stocks magically get sent to the minor leagues of theOTC-BB or the Pink Sheets, then NASDAQ would lose a substantial amountof revenue.  It would also lose a significant amount of daily exchangevolume.

Jon C. Ogg
December 19, 2008