Jan. 10--At least two Triangle companies are being delisted from major stock exchanges, and several more could follow if their fortunes don't improve -- moves with negative ramifications for companies and investors.

Analysts tend to shun publicly traded companies that are delisted for failing to meet minimum exchange requirements, reducing the flow of useful information to investors. There are also fewer investors willing to buy the stock, which can end up depressing prices.

For the companies, meanwhile, being delisted makes it more difficult to raise money by selling stock. It's also a blow to their prestige.

"In general, when a company is faced with a delisting request from the exchange, the company is already in trouble," said Cory Janssen, co-founder of Investopedia.com, an investment Web site.

Shares of companies delisted by stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq move to over-the-counter services such as the OTC Bulletin Board and Pink Sheets' Electronic Quotation Service.

"It's important for investors to understand that, after a company is delisted, you still own those shares," Janssen said.

Investors who own stock in a company whose stock is delisted should view it as a red flag, especially because it's "a long shot" that the stock will ever regain its listing, Janssen said.

The recession is pushing companies across the country below the exchanges' minimum listing requirements, such as a minimum share price and a minimum market capitalization, or total value of a company's outstanding shares.

In 2008, 54 companies were delisted by the NYSE because they went bankrupt or failed to meet regulatory requirements, up from 21 the year before. Nasdaq delisted 85 companies for regulatory reasons, up from 48 in 2007.

In October, Nasdaq temporarily suspended its rules requiring a $1 minimum closing price and minimum market capitalization because of what it called "the almost unprecedented turmoil" facing the market. The suspension has been extended until April. However, the NYSE hasn't suspended its requirements.

The number of companies facing delisting has expanded so rapidly that the stigma that goes with it may be diminished somewhat, said attorney Don Reynolds of Raleigh's Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton.

"Nasdaq's move to suspend delisting is an acknowledgement of this," he said.

All but one of the Triangle companies with delisting issues have fallen below minimum financial requirements set by the stock exchanges:

--Shares of Cary yellow pages publisher R.H.