SEC stops trading in 15 shares over social media concerns

SEC stops trading in 15 shares over social media concerns

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday suspended trading in 15 companies, citing dubious trading and social media activities.

What happened: In a statement, the SEC said the suspension was part of the agency’s ongoing effort to prevent attempts to exploit investors amid market volatility surrounding so-called meme stocks such as GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME).

“Today’s action follows the recent suspension of the securities of many other issuers, many of whom may also have been targets for apparent social media attempts to artificially inflate their share price,” the official statement said.

Melissa Hodgman, acting director of the SEC’s enforcement department, said: ‘We proactively monitor suspicious trading activities related to stock promotion on social media and act swiftly to stop trading, where applicable, in the public interest. to protect. We also remind investors to be careful and do their diligence before investing in general, including in companies promoted on social media. ”

Why it matters: According to the SEC order, none of the issuers submitted information to the SEC or OTC markets for more than a year, where the securities of the companies were listed.

Under federal law, the agency can suspend stock trading for only ten days and generally prohibit a broker-dealer from requesting investors to repurchase or resell the stock until certain reporting requirements are met.

The stocks suspended are:

  • Bebida Beverage Co. (OTC: BBDA)

  • Blue Sphere Corporation (OTC: BLSP)

  • Ehouse Global Inc. (OTC: EHOS)

  • Eventure Interactive Inc. (OTC: EVTI)

  • Eyes on the Go Inc. (OTC: AXCG)

  • Green Energy Enterprises Inc. (OTC: GYOG)

  • Helix Wind Corp. (OTC: HLXW)

  • International Power Group Ltd. (OTC: IPWG)

  • Marani Brands Inc. (OTC: MRIB)

  • MediaTechnics Corp. (OTC: MEDT)

  • Net Talk.com Inc. (OTC: NTLK)

  • Patten Energy Solutions Group Inc. (OTC: PTTN)

  • PTA Holdings Inc. (OTC: PTAH)

  • Universal Apparel & Textile Company (OTC: DKGR)

  • Wisdom Homes of America Inc. (OTC: WOFA)

This follows the recent suspension of the following shares for similar reasons:

  • Bangi Inc. (OTC: BNGI)

  • Sylios Corp. (OTC: UNGS)

  • Marathon Group Corp. (OTC: PDPR)

  • Affinity Beverage Group Inc. (OTC: ABVG)

  • All Grade Mining Inc. (OTC: HYII)

  • SpectraScience Inc. (OTC: SCIE)

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