Obscure Asian fintech AMTD Digital becomes the new GameStop
- Reference: 1659608833
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/08/04/amtd_digital_share_price/
- Source link:
The company is called AMTD Digital, which [1]claims to have in its possession a "comprehensive digital solutions platform equipped with multi-sector scarce digital financial licenses in Asia."
The business [2]listed on the New York Stock Exchange on July 15 and was pleased that its shares sold at $7.80 apiece at a valuation that topped $1 billion – nice numbers for a young company with [3]HK$195 million ($25 million) annual revenue.
[4]
On Tuesday the [5]share price reached $2,555.30 . No that's not a typo: shares went from $7.80 to two thousand five hundred and fifty-five United States dollars apiece inside three months.
[6]
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The company has issued a [8]statement about that extraordinary increase, in which it states:
To our knowledge, there are no material circumstances, events nor other matters relating to our Company's business and operating activities since the IPO date.
That's finance-speak for: "Nothing has changed that would suggest any reason for our share price going bonkers."
The reason for the spike is uncertain. Suspicion has fallen on the same kind of social media-fuelled retail investor pile-on that saw prices spike for so-called "meme stocks" like [9]GameStop and AMC .
Others have alleged the stock has been manipulated by parties unknown – perhaps to use AMTD Digital's Hong Kong home to make a play on the territory's dollar, which has also risen.
[10]Forget GameStop: Keyboard warriors and electronic trading have never mixed well
[11]Robinhood hit with record $70m bill by financial watchdog for outages, misleading investors
[12]Bitcoin is 'disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization' says famed investor Charlie Munger
Whatever the reason for the share price surge, it has caused hassles at CK Hutchison, the Hong-Kong based conglomerate that operates the mobile phone brand "3" in several nations and has other tech interests besides.
In the early 2000s, CK Hutchison had a hand in funding the formation of AMTD Digital's parent company.
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Hutchison today issued a [14]statement pointing out it has a 4 percent stake in AMTD Group, AMTD Digital's parent, but "is not involved in its operations and has no knowledge about any of its businesses or plans."
The company later updated the statement with news it "has entered into negotiations on the sale of its remaining shares in AMTD Group."
The same could be said for some of the investors in AMTD Digital, who have now seen the share price slump to just $1,100 – still a huge premium compared to its $7.80 float. Reddit's [15]wallstreetbets subreddit – which was held to be the reason for the rise of stocks like GameStop – currently features some tales of woe from investors who bought in while AMTD Digital's stock was still rising, and plenty of theories suggesting manipulation of the company's shares and/or unfair media coverage unfairly blaming the forum for the odd price movements. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.amtdigital.net/overview/
[2] https://ir.amtdigital.net/investor-news/investor-news-details/2022/AMTD-Digital-Inc.-Announces-Successful-Pricing-of-Initial-Public-Offering-with-a-Pre-Greenshoe-Market-Capitalization-of-US1.433-billion/default.aspx
[3] https://sec.report/Document/0001193125-22-194790/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YuvtNc39oenbQ5QKIjv6jAAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/hkd?mod=md_home_movers_quote
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YuvtNc39oenbQ5QKIjv6jAAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YuvtNc39oenbQ5QKIjv6jAAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220801005877/en/AMTD-Digital-Inc.-Thank-you-note-to-investors-and-our-response-to-our-latest-ADS-price-performance
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/28/robinhood_blocks_trades/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/22/who_me/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/01/robinhood_finra_fine/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/03/berkshire_hathaway_annual_meeting_tech_highlights/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YuvtNc39oenbQ5QKIjv6jAAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.ckh.com.hk/en/media/press_each.php?id=3391
[15] https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
> The reason for the spike is uncertain. Suspicion has fallen on the same kind of social media-fuelled retail investor pile-on that saw prices spike for so-called "meme stocks" like GameStop and AMC.
This should be really easy to verify, check out the usual subreddits and a Google search should provide certainty if this has become a meme stock.
I guess fact checking isn't a journalist's job any more?
What’s Good for the Goose, is Good for the Gander
Nothing brand spanking new to see there, Simon. It is just the way that particular great game has always been played.
Inequitable and right crooked it may be, but extremely profitable for a chosen few it certainly can be ..... and that is its compelling attraction in practically every sector you may imagine or mention.
Greed and Profit Supply Money for Nothing and Renders Chicks and Chips for Free. Without it there would be no dodgy free market casinos/stock exchanges.
Almighty problems then though increase and multiple at an exponential rate whenever such insider knowledge enters the mainstream and other alternative world wide web networks for it is easily recognised as unsustainable at scale and therefore no better than a Ponzi ...... although it would be foolish to deny it is remarkably convenient and most enjoyable for an elite few whilst mass ignorance remains ascendant to support their selfish arrogance.
Re: What’s Good for the Goose, is Good for the Gander
@amanfromMars 1
Friday afternoon I am going out to get pissed. Because, unbelievably, I havre just read a comment of yours. Not only did I not realise you had written it until I looked, I understood it.
I noticed the Dire Straits thing. About the only decent record they made...
unleash the shorts
when the stock is this high, and overvalued, there's a pretty good chance that someone will bet against it.
Good!
Anything that draws attention to the inherent casino nature of the stock market is a great thing IMHO.
For decades the big boys have creamed huge profits from playing this game, so if retail investors have managed to take a slice of the pie, through coordinating their efforts, then what's not to like?
@amanfromMars 1
Friday afternoon I am going out to get pissed. Because, unbelievably, I havre just read a comment of yours. Not only did I not realise you had written it until I looked, I understood it.
I noticed the Dire Straits thing. About the only decent record they made...
The chatter on r/wallstreetbets is they're actually very offended that they're being blamed for this.. the first mention of it there was after it'd already blown up, and every single comment was calling it a pump and dump. Look to the institutions for their market manipulation, not the apes as a scapegoat :P
What is with that title ?
First time seeing a bullshit clickbait title on here, it's kinda weird.
Everyone on those subs (not my thing but super fun to follow they're all a bunch of gamblers in denial but that's a whole other thing) is saying it's manipulated, that media is trying to turn it into a "meme stock" and very few people are into it. Hell, there's a lot of fun conspiracy theories too; the stock is being manipulated in such a way that when it's brought under control by force, those rules can then be used to also do the same thing to GameStop and AMC. I'm not quite sure what all that means tbh but considering they're constantly going on about how the SEC is corrupt, it's fun tinfoil stuff.