Shares of Athersys Inc. fell 4.6% on Monday, the first day of trading since the Cleveland-based regenerative medicine company combined 25 of its shares into one.
On July 28, Athersys shareholders approved a reverse stock split within a range of 1:15 to 1:30 primarily to bring Athersys into compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement of $1.
Athersys shares ended Monday at $3.10. The shares had fallen an additional 8 cents to $3.02 in aftermarket trading by 5:15 p.m. on Monday.
The company's shares hit an all-time low of 15.5 cents in after-market trading on Aug. 25, the day Athersys announced that its reverse split would occur by the start of trading on Monday.
Founded in 1994 to develop what would become adult stem-cell therapy MultiStem, Athersys has withstood several challenges this year, ranging from reporting clinical results that disappointed some investors, causing a 66% drop in the company's share price, to losing its $100 million equity purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund LLC.
In June, the company announced plans to cut its workforce by as much as 70% in a restructuring aimed at reducing costs and making it an attractive investment for potential financial or strategic partners.
And on Aug. 15, Athersys said "a single healthcare-focused U.S. institutional investor" had agreed to acquire up to 48 million shares of Athersys stock, stock equivalents and warrants for 25 cents apiece, raising $12 million.
Athersys has not named the institutional investor or reported the proceeds from the stock purchase deal, which was supposed to close on Aug. 17, in regulatory filings.
