Charles & Colvard, whose stock faces delisting unless it gets above $1 by Dec. 2, announced plans this afternoon to buy back up to 1 million shares.
The Morrisville company is seeing slumping sales of its lab-made moissanite gems, used in fine jewelry. By using some of its more than $7 million in cash to buy its own shares, the company is trying to boost the stock price.
The shares jumped 16 cents to close at 86 cents today. The stock traded as high as $25 in late 2005.
This week, Charles & Colvard named Randy McCullough as its new CEO and reported that it lost $501,458 during the third quarter. That was an improvement from a $3.1 million loss during the same quarter last year.
Chief financial officer Tim Krist told investors on a conference call that the company is "pursuing every opportunity to try to" avoid delisting by the Nasdaq, "but there's no guarantee we'll be able to accomplish that."
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or 
