SciQuest executed its reverse stock split as expected on Monday and launched it under a new, temporary symbol Tuesday.
Despite the higher price and the announcement of winning Aventis as a customer, the stock dropped 87 cents, or 18 percent, in the first hour of trading. But SciQuest rallied later in the day to close at $4.50, a drop of 37 cents, or 7.7 percent.
SciQuest (Nasdaq: SQSTD) opened at $4.87, a reflection of the reverse split of one new share to 7 ½. SciQuest stock closed at 65 cents on Monday. The company chose the reverse stock maneuver as a means of driving up its stock price, which had fallen below the Nasdaq minimum listing of $1. The reverse split reversed the number of SciQuest shares to 3.8 million from 28.9 million shares.
Some 3,700 shares were traded in the opening minutes. In all, 14,866 shares traded by the time markets closed.
The new symbol will remain in use for 20 days or so and then should convert back to SQST, the company said in a statement.
SciQuest also announced Tuesday that Aventis Pharmaceuticals had signed on to use its lifecycle biological material management software.
“By supplying scientists with fast, accurate searches of biologicals and electronic sample requisitioning, we expect to reduce both processing errors and acquisition times — ultimately increasing researcher productivity,” said Heinrich Decker, global manager of microbiology activities for Aventis Industrial Operations, in a statement.
SciQuest: www.sciquest.com
