Gourmet Provisions Intl Corp (GMPR)

[meidiot]

Major stock exchanges, like the Nasdaq, are exclusive clubs—their reputations rest on the companies they trade. As such, the Nasdaq won't allow just any company to be traded on its exchange. Only companies with a solid history and top-notch management behind them are considered.

The regular bid price of shares of the company's stock at the time of listing must be at least $4.00. However, a company may qualify under a closing price alternative of $3.00 or $2.00 if the company meets varying requirements. Typically, there must be at least three (or four depending on the criteria) market makers for the stock.34Companies must have a minimum of 1,250,000 publicly traded shares outstanding upon listing, excluding those held by officers, directors, or any beneficial owners of more than 10% of the company.Companies must also have at least 450 round lot (i.e., 100 shares or more) shareholders, 2,200 total shareholders, or 550 total shareholders with 1.1 million average trading volume over the past 12 months.Depending on the types of security listed and the company's size, an application fee of $5,000 to $25,000 could be assessed. Companies must also pay a fee based on the quantity of shares issued, which can range from $100,000 to $150,000. There are also several other fees, depending on the type of company, including an annual listing fee, small-cap fee for smaller companies, and fees for additional services or changes such as record-keeping and additional shares issued.567