Enron Shares Trading; NYSE to Review Status

Enron Corp. shares continued to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, but the Big Board issued a statement saying it is reviewing the stock’s status.

The company’s shares rose 14 cents to close at 40 cents. Nearly 168 million shares changed hands.

A bankruptcy filing doesn’t automatically force a stock off the NYSE. The exchange said Enron “currently complies with the NYSE’s quantitative continued-listing standards,” which include a minimum market capitalization (stock price times shares outstanding) of $15 million over a 30-trading-day period and a minimum share price of $1, also over a 30-trading-day period.

Enron shares first fell below $1 on Nov. 28.

But the NYSE also warned that it can delist a stock even if a company meets official listing standards. The exchange “may make an appraisal of, and determine on an individual basis, the suitability for continued listing of an issue in light of all pertinent facts whenever it deems such action appropriate,” the NYSE said.

Losing its NYSE listing could push Enron into the over-the-counter market.

That’s where shares of steelmaker LTV Inc. now trade. That company filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago.

Polaroid Corp., which filed for bankruptcy Oct. 12, was delisted by the NYSE on Oct. 15 and now trades in the OTC market.

But Bethlehem Steel, which entered bankruptcy on Oct. 15, still trades on the NYSE.