More Investor Abuse Charged To Market Makers
By Jack Burney
06/09/2000 07:12 AM CST
(This is the second in a series of articles about secret market maker manipulation of OTCBB stock prices, and the need for a rule to require full disclosure of short positions in OTCBB stocks. If you know of such instances of MM suppression of stocks, please tell us the story at jburney@otcnn.com)
Investors are responding loud and clear to OTC News Network?s inquiry into MMM, or Market Maker Manipulation via secret short positions in certain OTCBB stocks.
Typical of the feedback was a complaint by Investor Ernie McLaughlin,, who followed the experience of New Visual Entertainment (OTCBB: NVXE) and concluded that ?the MMs have huge short positions? in that stock.
?I have run the Time and Sales Report for New Visual Entertainment for significant periods of time,?
McLaughlin said. ?The average day showed 3 to 4 shares sold by the MMs for every share bought. This continued through last September, until I gave up. If the figures were accurate, the MMs were short more than the float.
Since that time, McLaughlin has run the figures a few times on ?down days? and has never seen a day when the MMs reported more shares bought than sold. McLaughlin?s conclusion: MMs sold two shares for every one share bought as a routine.
NVXE closed at $1.38 Friday, this after climbing to nearly $7.00 in early March after news of progress by the company, then plunging to under two, seeing a two-day rise to nearly four, then mysteriously going into another nosedive to its present level. All this occurred on extremely low volume.
Insiders speculate on the MMs tactics to suppress a stock like NVXE, but an SEC report OTC News Network has unearthed with the help of knowledgeable investors illustrates how the MMs work illegally behind the scenes.
?The following taped conversation,? the SEC report says, ?depicts a best execution violation involving the cancellation of an earlier agency sale for the account of a customer at a higher price and the re-execution of that trade at a lower price, to the customer?s detriment, for the purpose of fostering goodwill between the executing market maker and the purchasing market maker:
?Trader 1: OK, you bought some from us today at 8 1/8.
?Trader 2: Yeah.
?Trader 1: 5,000 shares. . . . And basically you were the only price that was way out of whack for us.
So what I want to do is give you a little gimme over there, but, um, hopefully you'll remember us and
pay us back some day. But anyway, I want to change the price for you from 8 1/8 to 7 3/4.
?Trader 2: 7 ó?
?Trader 1: Yup.
?Trader 2: Oh, my goodness.
?As indicated by the conversation, Trader 1 canceled the earlier agency sale he had made to Trader 2 at $8 1/8 per share and resold the stock to Trader 2 at $7 3/4 per share, thereby improperly disadvantaging the customer for whom Trader 1 was selling.
(More on this revealing report later.)
New Visual Entertainment made a move to go for full NASDAQ listing and maintained a price above $5 for nearly a month, but the price was taken below $4 just at 30 days and just before the recent downturn.
?Since that time,? said McLaughlin, ?we have had some great news: (1) A proposed merger with Intelecon -- a revenue and asset bonanza, (2) a new film contract, (3) a New Wheel subsidiary announced broadband transmission speeds of 52 MBS over 26 gauge telephone wire for 3500 ft. (4) Broadband transmission to be verified by Lucent Technologies for 8500 ft.
?We did announce a reverse split and the price plummeted although we didn't see large sell offs. The reverse split was approved at the annual shareholders meeting with only 3% against.?
With all the good news, the NVXE price made very little movement and then retreated immediately, McLaughlin said. ?I continuelly watch real time trade reports and stockpoints graph of buys vs. sells. I have yet to see a day when sells wee higher than buys.
McLuaghlin believes strongly that the MMs have a huge short position. ?They have no intention of
letting us move out of their control. They have, I believe, hired bashers to disrupt the Raging Bull
message board.?
New Visual is pioneering the development of a proprietary broadband transmission technology to utilize existing copper telecommunications infrastructure to deliver high data content to the home at VDSL (52 Mbps) data transfer rates. Through its New Wheel Technology, Inc. subsidiary, New Visual is developing proprietary advanced algorithms which would allow high data rate transmission over existing copper telecommunications infrastructure, while permitting voice communications simultaneously on the same pair of wires. Through its Impact Pictures, Inc. subsidiary, New Visual develops web animation, streaming media, multimedia production and CD-ROM business cards |
