StockerYale meets Nasdaq guidelines

StockerYale is now in compliance with Nasdaq market rules, having been able to maintain a share price of more than $1 for two weeks, the company announced Monday.

The stock shot up March 2 to about $1.15 a share when the cash-strapped Salem-based provider of photonics products announced that it would sell off two aspects of its business for $1.1 million. The price fell shortly afterward, to about $1, but reacted favorably to the compliance news on Monday. The company had not previously remained above $1 since September.

This is the second time in as many years that the company bounced back from a Nasdaq noncompliance warning. If the share price had not increased, it could have faced delisting from the exchange.

The company has been struggling, losing a total of $2.6 million in the last two quarters. It recently sold off two properties, including its Salem headquarters, in order to raise capital. It is leasing the facilities instead.

The company also is in federal court seeking to dismiss charges in a class action suit that charges company executives manipulated the stock price and engaged in insider training to make a killing in April 2004. (CEO Mark Blodgett has settled similar charges with the SEC for $900,000.).

In a filing last Thursday, attorneys reiterated that the company issued a false and misleading press release about a defense contract with BAE Systems in order to artificially inflate the stock price, even though it was warned that it was inaccurate. – BOB SANDERS