AEYE Trading on OTCQB and the OTC Bulletin Board may be volatile and sporadic, which could depress the market price of our common shares and make it difficult for our stockholders to resell their shares.
Our common shares are listed to be quoted on the OTCQB and OTC Bulletin Board services effective April 15, 2013. Trading in shares quoted on the OTCQB and OTC Bulletin Board is often thin and characterized by wide fluctuations in trading prices, due to many factors that may have little to do with our operations or business prospects. This volatility could depress the market price of shares of our common stock for reasons unrelated to operating performance. Moreover, the OTCQB and OTC Bulletin Board are not stock exchanges, and trading of securities on the OTCQB and OTC Bulletin Board are often more sporadic than the trading of securities listed on a quotation system like NASDAQ or a stock exchange like Amex. Accordingly, stockholders may have difficulty reselling shares of our common stock.
A substantial number of shares of our common stock may be sold into the market at any time. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
All of the 1,500,259 shares of our common stock that were registered pursuant to our registration statement that was declared effective as of January 29, 2013 are freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the federal securities laws, except for shares owned by our “affiliates” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The remaining shares of common stock outstanding after the effective date of our registration statement, including the shares issued in the Separation, are restricted securities as defined in Rule 144. Restricted securities may be sold in the U.S. public market only if registered under the Securities Act or if they qualify for an exemption from registration, including by reason of Rule 144. All of our restricted shares are eligible for sale in the public market beginning after the effective date, provided that such restricted shares have been held for at least six months, subject in certain circumstances to the volume, manner of sale and other limitations under Rule 144 for shares held by our affiliates. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock.
Our share is a penny stock; trading of shares of our common stock may be restricted by the SEC’s penny stock regulations, which may limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our shares.
Our share is a penny stock. The SEC has adopted Rule 15g-9 which generally defines “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price (as defined) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Our securities are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors.” The term “accredited investor” refers generally to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC, which provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the shares that are subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently, these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our securities. We believe that the penny stock rules discourage investor interest in and limit the marketability of our common shares.
