Star Scientific faces delisting

Tobacco company Star Scientific Inc. has six months to get its stock price above $1 per share or face possible delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The Petersburg-based company said it was notified by Nasdaq officials on Nov. 5 that it was not in compliance with the exchange’s minimum bid rules because its closing per-share bid price was below $1 for 30 consecutive days.

The company said it has until May 4 to regain compliance. To do so, the closing bid price for its stock must be $1 or more for at least 10 consecutive trading days.

Star Scientific shares closed at 74 cents yesterday, down 7 cents, or 8.6 percent. The stock has traded between $5.89 and 71 cents per share over the last year.

Star, which makes smokeless tobacco products, saw it stock price drop more than 70 percent in June after a jury returned an unfavorable verdict for the company in a patent-infringement lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.