Last Friday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it would halt trading of Meta Materials Preferred Shares (OTCMKTS:MMTLP) earlier than expected, shocking MMTLP shareholders across the board. The agency cited halt code U3, which is reserved for “extraordinary events.”
Shareholders were quick to take to social media to voice their concerns. Since Friday, both #finrafraud and #MMTLP have been trending on Twitter. Some shareholders have speculated that FINRA assisted short sellers by halting shares early. They argue that these short sellers would be forced to cover their short positions by buying shares of MMTLP, which could drive up the price of the stock.
With MMTLP already halted, investors are now wondering when the stock will be taken off the market. Let’s get into the details.
Is MMTLP Stock Getting Deleted Today?
Meta Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT) had previously announced that shares of MMTLP would be “cancelled” today, Dec. 13. However, a visit to FINRA’s list of daily deletions shows no mention of MMTLP for the days ending Dec. 12 and Dec. 13. A search for Dec. 8 on the page shows that the agency scheduled MMTLP to be deleted today, Dec. 13.
Meanwhile, the search visibility of MMTLP differs on different brokerages. For example, Fidelity still displays MMTLP in its search bar, but users come to a blank screen when clicking on it. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE:MS) E*TRADE yields no results for the ticker.
Meta Materials has been quiet about the situation. The company has not yet released a press release detailing the matter, with its last press release dated Dec. 8.
The lack of updates have inspired shareholders to take action themselves. A Change.org petition demanding “justice” for shareholders now has over 10,000 signatures. The petition puts forward several requests, such as the abolition of dark pools and payment for order flow (PFOF). FINRA has not yet acknowledged the petition.
With that in mind, investors should assume that shares will be taken off the market today and remain halted until they are cancelled.
The deletion of shares would be a major blow to shareholders. Many had planned on holding their shares until the day before the previously scheduled cancellation date of Dec. 13 in the hopes of experiencing a final, potential short squeeze.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
