NEW YORK – Shares of T2 Biosystems fell nearly 60 percent in early Friday trading on the Nasdaq, a day after the firm effected a reverse stock split.
Shares of the Lexington, Massachusetts-based diagnostics firm were down 59 percent at $7.21 soon after the markets opened on Friday.
Investors in the firm's common stock saw their holdings go to 1 post-split share for every 100 pre-split shares held. The reverse stock split is intended to bring T2 into compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for maintaining its listing on the Nasdaq. It was cautioned in early April by the stock exchange that its common stock had closed below the minimum $1 per share requirement for 30 consecutive days.
The firm recently obtained 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for its T2Biothreat Panel, which detects six organisms directly from blood using the T2Dx instrument. Specifically, it detects the organisms that cause anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), glanders (Burkholderia mallei), melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei), plague (Yersinia pestis), and typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii).