Take-Two shares fell $3.56, or 19 percent, to $15 in the first five minutes of trade on NASDAQ, from its January 22 close of $18.56. During the day the stock bottomed out at $14, then began creeping up again. Thirty minutes before the market closes, shares are trading at $17.25.
Many say the company has yet to explain why the accounting problems -- which necessitated a restatement of seven quarters of results -- occurred in the first place. Analysts believe that until someone at the company takes the blame, a spectre of wrongdoing will remain with Take-Two. Chief financial officer Albert Pastino resigned Wednesday, after only two months in the position, but cited "personal reasons" for his departure.
"We wish to once again extend our most sincere apologies to our shareholders for any inconvenience they have been caused due to the halt in trading of our common stock," Take-Two President Paul Eibeler said in a statement on Friday.
