WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US securities regulator on Friday suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies because of “questionable trades and social media activities”, the latest in a series of temporary trading interruptions amid volatile negotiations of so-called “meme stocks.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission acted because none of the companies had submitted any information to the regulator for more than a year, the agency said in a statement. This is the regulator’s third and biggest wave of suspensions in response to social media activity.
Retail interest in certain stocks, most notably GameStop Corp, increased in a social media frenzy, leading to volatile trading.
The SEC continues to review market and trading data to identify other securities for “potential attempts to exploit investors during the recent market volatility,” the agency said on Friday.
For a complete list of suspensions announced on Friday, click here: here.
Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Chris Prentice; Written by Mohammad Zargham; Richard Chang edition