Shares dive as CPI Aero pulled from NYSE
An A-10 main landing gear pod is pictured at CPI Aero in Edgewood. Credit: Barry Sloan
Shares of CPI Aerostructures Inc. tumbled Friday after the aerospace contractor's stock was pulled from the New York Stock Exchange.
The Edgewood company's stock price fell 32.6% to close Friday at $1.57 in over-the-counter trading on the Pink Open Market operated by the OTC Markets Group.
The company's symbol changes to "CVUA" from the "CVU" that was used on the NYSE. Trading requirements on the OTC markets are less stringent than on the NYSE.
On Thursday, CPI Aero received a notice from the NYSE saying that the exchange was suspending trading in the stock as part of a delisting process in response to the company's failure to file timely financial documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company said that it will not be able to meet a Tuesday deadline to file its annual report for the year ended Dec. 31 and its quarterly report for the period ended March 31, but intends to file an appeal in an attempt to regain a listing on the NYSE.
"We continue to work toward regaining compliance with timely filing of SEC periodic reports,” Dorith Hakim, CPI Aero's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Hakim said that despite the accounting issues, the company expects to report growing revenue and improved net income and operating cash flow for 2021.
CPI Aero makes components and assemblies used in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early-warning aircraft and a pod to house Raytheon electronic warfare jammers.
CPI Aero's stock was far off the 52-week high of $4.24 registered on May 27, 2021, even before Friday's decline.
Hakim, a veteran aerospace executive, was hired as CEO in March after the company, with 267 employees as of Dec. 31, 2020, grappled with ongoing accounting issues and missed SEC filing deadlines.
Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.
