MBI received another warning from Nasdaq for its low share value

Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. was warned again by the Nasdaq Stock Market that its low share value jeopardizes its stock listing, as the company struggles to recover from financial scandal.

The Davis-based company develops, manufactures and sells biologically-based products to replace chemicals used to manage agricultural pests. Since an accounting scandal two years ago, Marrone stock has lost more than 90 percent of its value, leading to multiple warnings from the stock exchange.

Marrone reported May 6 that it had received a letter dated May 3 from Nasdaq’s listing qualifications department that the market value of Marrone's publicly held shares had fallen below the $15 million minimum to continue its listing on the exchange. Additionally, the company reported a May 4 letter from the exchange noting that Marrone shares had closed below the $1 minimum price for more than 30 days, triggering another delisting warning. The company has a grace period through Oct. 31 to come back into compliance with the Nasdaq standards.

Meanwhile, Marrone has only until July 6 to bring the value of all of its listed securities above a minimum of $50 million, under a different listing rule. That warning was issued Jan. 13.

CEO Pam Marrone has said in recent interviews that the company has options to raise its market capitalization. She declined to elaborate on them. Marrone said the company is focused on revenue generation, which should spur investor interest.

Marrone Bio shares fell in 2014 after the company announced an internal investigation of its own financial reporting. That investigation led to the discovery that a former employee had misled Marrone in its accounting for sales. Former chief operating officer Hector Absi has since been indicted on fraud charges and stands accused of inflating the company's reported revenues by millions of dollars to qualify for an incentive bonus and boost the value of his stock options. The company itself was not charged with wrongdoing.

It has, however, been warned of delisting by Nasdaq many times in recent years for not filing timely financial reports. Marrone's filings are now current.

On Monday, the company announced it will release first-quarter financial results after the market closes May 12.

Additionally, Marrone announced Monday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved funding a $647,077 grant to assess open-water testing of the company's Zequanox product, which kills invasive zebra and quagga mussels. The grant is to find Zequanox’s potential to control mussels in the Great Lakes. Zequanox was approved by the EPA for open-water uses in July 2014. It is the only biopesticide mussel control product registered by the EPA for open-water use.