The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement on Friday morning that it “closely monitors the extreme price volatility of certain stock trading prices” in recent days and that it is ready to take aggressive enforcement action if it shows that market manipulation has taken place.
The statement comes amid widespread public interest in a handful of shares, including GameStop Corp.
GME,
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
AMC,
and Nokia Corp.
NOK,
which has been the goal of professional card sellers who have bet that these companies will fail.
Sagan caught the attention of legislators in Washington after online brokers Robinhood and competitors, including Interactive Brokers and TD Ameritrade, restricted the purchase of these shares, which have made huge profits in recent months in a social media campaign aimed at increasing the shares of these troubled companies and harm short sell hedge funds.
“The Commission works closely with our regulatory partners … to ensure that regulated entities uphold their obligations to protect investors and to identify and engage in potential errors,” the statement said. “We will act to protect individuals when facts show abuse or manipulative trading activity that is prohibited under federal securities laws.”
