On July 5^th, 2019 the Securities and Exchange Commission published Amendment No. 3 to proposed changes by the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq” or the “Exchange”) to its Initial Listing Standards.[1] Nasdaq stated in its proposed rule change that it believes that these amendments are necessary in order to ensure that Nasdaq only lists securities with a sufficient market, with adequate depth and liquidity, and with sufficient investor interest to support an exchange listing. The proposed rules will take effect on an expedited basis prior to the thirtieth day following its publication in the Federal Register.

On June 10, 2019, in response to the proposed bill, “Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges” (“EQUITABLE Act”), Nasdaq released a FAQ (identification number 1696) clarifying listing standards for an applicant’s initial or continued listing based on a company’s financial statements. For more information, please read our previous alert dated June 25, 2019.