BTRN 7-12-02 Trading summary:
I got interested in the BTRN trading today and made a summary which is approximate.
up to
10:42, 10k total, mostly 1.70 - 1.75
nothing until
12:15 91.3k 1.70
12:15 1.5k 1.75
then mostly 100 share trades to
12:27, walking price up to 1.87
12:37 4k 1.74
12:37 5k 1.73
12:41 5k total 1.71
13:24 - 13:39 15k total 1.71-1.73
14:45 - 14:54 small 5k total dropping to 1.50
14.57 56.5k 1.65
15:26 several trades total 5k 1.56
15:38 several trades total 5k 1.54
15:46 200k 1.55
to the close 10k total 1.59-1.60, one buy was mine.
AH less than 1k total, mostly 1.75
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The simple no-brainer speculation-interpretation of the blocks:
200k block @ 1.55 is clearly a low price, so presumably it's a customer selling.
So say Market Maker(s) has a customer order to sell 200k, willing to take 1.55
Then the MM shorted the 91.3k block at 12:15 @ 1.70 (to customers or different MMs who are not in on the 200k customer sell)
There's no real trading go on, so a nice opportunity to do the 100 share walkup to 1.87 at 12:27, hoping that some of us trend-watchers glued to our screens (and perhaps the lunch crowd trying to make a quick fortune) will say: "My god, there's been a monster block trade in BTRN, and now the price is going thru the roof! I'll get 10k at 1.90. Hey chat room - BTRN has cured cancer! It's going to 100."
It doesn't take much to start an avalanche, but alas, momos are not watching small biotechs much these days for shooting stars, and no avalanche happens. The MM doesn't get his chance to short at high prices.
Later at 14:57 the MM still needs to short shares so he can buy the 200k from the customer, so he shorts the 56.5K block, and is willing to take 1.65 now, because there's less time left to do the transaction. Finally at 15:46 he buys the 200k block from the customer, with all or most of it pre-sold thru his shorting. A tidy profit, and little risk; especially he doesn't have the risk of holding overnight. MMs are very risk-averse, and their clearing houses, which guarantee their trades, and check their "hair cuts" every night, are even more so.
I hadn't seen any of this, but just noticed the low price of BTRN, and put in a bid a little before the the 200 block at 1.55 went thru. My (small) bid was 1.57, but I didn't get filled. I think this is legal, and probably even reasonable, when you are putting a 200k block together, you don't want to deal with every small bid out there. I raised the bid to 1.60 and got filled.
When I've complained when say I had a bid for 1k of something at 1.50, and a trade goes thru for 1k at 1.55 much later, they say that you're not guaranteed any fills unless you take the offer. They always seem to refer to Nasdaq as the "over-the-counter" market in this case, as contrasted to the "listed market" of the NYSE, where the specialist does try harder to do "best bid" type trading.
For Nasdaq, you're supposed to picture sleazy guys in raincoats furtively passing envelopes of shares over the counter I think.
Doc |
