Vuzix CEO to ring bell, firm to trade on NASDAQ

A Brighton-based video eyewear and smartglass company will celebrate being listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market by ringing the market's opening bell on Wednesday.

Paul Travers, CEO and founder of Vuzix Corp., is expected to be in New York City for the occasion, NASDAQ announced on Tuesday. Shares of Vuzix common stock will be listed as VUZI starting Wednesday.

"With this listing on a U.S. national securities exchange, we believe we will be able to enhance our company visibility as we continue to seek to improve shareholder value moving forward," Travers said in a statement. "It has always been our intention to be a NASDAQ-listed company and we have now achieved that goal for our shareholders."

Chris Hayes of Hayes Asset Management LLC, a Rochester investment advisory firm, said getting listed on the NASDAQ gives a firm a larger market for its stock, along with more transparency with additional filing requirements.

"It gives them a little more legitimacy to say, 'Hey, I trade on the NASDAQ' versus a smaller exchange," he said.

Vuzix announced earlier this month that it received a $24.8 million investment from Intel Corp., which snapped up 30 percent of its outstanding stock in the deal, according to a filing with a Securities and Exchange Commission.

The deal gave Intel the power to vote with shareholders and approve two members to Vuzix's Board of Directors in an effort to take on Google and Apple in the growing wearables market.

Overall, the global wearable industry is expected to grow nearly 25 percent annually with total sales of more than $11.6 billion by the end of 2020, according to Markets and Markets research firm.

While products like Google Glass and Apple iWatch are helping to drive the market, a slew of other gear such as body and footwear are expected to expand the market.

Vuzix stock was up nearly 2.3 percent on Tuesday to $7.16, that's up from a 52- week low of $2.10.

"Our recent investment from Intel Corporation and the related transactions not only provided us with the capital to accelerate products around our next generation wearable technology, but also transformed our balance sheet to meet NASDAQ's listing criteria," Travers added.

TCLAUSEN@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter: @ToddJClausen