It finished Wednesday’s trading session on the Nasdaq Global Market exchange at exactly $0.2699 and just before Noon on Thursday was down by more than 12% in value. Why? Investors likely learned of a SEC filing made following the close of trading indicating that Cumulus Media has decided to shift its publicly traded shares to the OTC Markets.
The decision to shift “CMLS” to the “OTCQB” market tier, considered to be a home of riskier investments than companies trading on the NYSE or Nasdaq markets, was precipitated by notification from The NASDAQ Stock Market on Wednesday (4/23) indicating that “CMLS” would be delisted — with trading suspended — with the Opening Bell on Friday, May 2.
Cumulus had an option to prevent that from happening. According to Nasdaq rules, the company led by CEO Mary Berner that will reveal its first quarter 2025 financial results prior to its final trading day on Nasdaq (May 1 at 8:30am Eastern) had an opportunity to request an appeal of the delisting determination before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel. The appeal would need to be submitted by April 30.
But, Cumulus decided to move its stock to the OTC market “rather than investing time, effort, and cost into developing a plan to remain on Nasdaq,” a company representative told Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report on Wednesday afternoon.
The Cumulus representative indicated that the “CMLS” ticket symbol will remain in place and that the move from Nasdaq does not affect the company’s operations. “Cumulus remains focused on executing its strategy and driving long-term growth,” the company spokesperson said.
For CFO Frank López-Balboa, filing of a Form 25 Notification of Delisting with the Securities and Exchange Commission will put the wheels in motion on Cumulus’ next chapter.
Long-term investors in Cumulus Media have lost significant amounts of money. In September 2018, when “CMLS” began trading on the Nasdaq upon the company’s emergence from debtor-in-possession status, shares peaked in the low $20 range. The pandemic in 2020 sent “CMLS” to the high $3 range, but share values recovered, with trading in the mid-teens seen in summer 2021 and again in April 2022. Then, Cumulus shares sputtered, beginning a slow and steady two-year decline that accelerated as 2024 began.
Cumulus last closed above $1 on October 31, 2024.
