Cyanotech Corp., maker of microalgae-based nutritional products, said it could be delisted from the Nasdaq market because its shares were trading at less than $1.

Company spokesman Bruce Russell said Kona-based Cyanotech has 180 days to increase its price above $1 level for more than 10 days to avoid the action. The company can also seek a 180-day extension after the deadline expires, Russell said.

Shares of Cyanotech, maker of nutritional supplements BioAstin and Spirulina Pacifica, have traded under $1 since Oct. 19 and reached a 52-week low of 62 cents last week. Russell said the company's plans to raise the stock price include increasing wholesale product sales by refocusing marketing and producing profits.

During its fiscal second quarter Cyanotech had a loss of $321,000 or 2 cents a share. Sales during the period were $2.52 million, or 16 percent lower than a year earlier.

This isn't the first time Nasdaq has threatened to boot Cyanotech from its marketplaces. In 2003 Cyanotech faced being relegated to the OTC Bulletin Board because its shares were trading under $1. Companies trading through the OTC Bulletin Board are usually ignored by institutional and other investors.