Investing.com -- Shares in Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACUR), an Illinois-based manufacturer of medication abuse deterrent products, plummeted 6% in after-hours trading after the company announced a reverse 1-for-5 stock split on Monday afternoon.
The action, which will lower the number of the company's common stock shares by 59 million to 11.80 million, will be effective on August 27. One day later, Acura Pharmaceutical's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis.
In February, the company expanded its Meth-resistant decongestant line with the release of Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain, its second pseudoephedrine (PSE) product. Nexafed's Impede technology disrupts the conversion of PSE to meth, making the resulting compound practically useless for meth production, the company said in a statement.
Last October, the U.S. Department of Justice provided a grant of more than $6 million dollars to law enforcement agencies in a number of states to help combat meth abuse -- demonstrating the continued impact of the dangerous drug in local communities nationwide. At the same time, Acura Pharmaceutical expanded sales of Nexafed to numerous drug, grocery and mass merchandiser stores throughout the country to help meet the growing demand.
The reverse stock split is intended to increase the market price per share of the company's common stock in order to allow the company to maintain the listing of its common stock on the NASDAQ capital market, the company said in a statement. Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, the company's stock transfer agent, will serve as the exchange agent for the stock split, the company added.
Shares in Acura Pharmaceuticals fell 0.04 or 6.18% to 0.58 in after-hours trading.