Nasdaq again threatens to delist Miragen over sub-$1 stock price

BOULDER — The Nasdaq has again warned MiRagen Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: MGEN) that it could be removed from the market if its stock remains under $1 per share through next April.

The letter, disclosed by Miragen in a regulatory filing Wednesday, is the second time in the span of 12 months where the Boulder-based pharmaceutical company has faced being booted off the exchange.

The company said in the filing that it intends to consider all options to regain compliance with the exchange, including a reverse stock split wherein it would reduce the amount of shares outstanding while keeping the percentage of ownership each equity holder has in the company.

Such a move is often seen as a sign of distress by the market.

Nasdaq rules require members to have share prices that close at more than $1 per share. Companies that fail to do so for 30 straight trading days are placed on notice.

Miragen initially regained compliance with Nasdaq rules in July after having 10 straight business days where its stock closed at a bid price of more than $1 per share after a reverse stock split.

The latest warning from the exchange comes after a tumultuous series of weeks for Miragen. In mid-September, co-founder and former CEO Bill Marshall resigned to make way for new CEO Lee Rauch. At the time, the company said it was considering spinning off several drug candidates in its pipeline to focus solely on a pulmonary fibrosis treatment.

It also said it had retained a strategic review adviser, a signal that it is contemplating a merger or being acquired in the future.

Three weeks later, the company’s former flagship drug treatment failed to show definitive benefits to lymphoma patients in Phase II trials.

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