Meta Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT) stock is down about 15% year-to-date (YTD), although a major financial institution recently reported purchasing shares of the company. MMAT stock was thrown into controversy last December after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) decided to suspend shares of Meta Materials Preferred Shares (MMTLP). At the time, FINRA cited halt code U3, which is reserved for events that can cause volatile price action. These shares of MMTLP were slated to be replaced by shares of Next Bridge Hydrocarbons.
Shareholders argued that the halt was implemented in order to bail out short sellers of MMTLP. They believed that short sellers of MMTLP would be forced to cover their positions before the stock was replaced by Next Bridge, which could result in an uptick in price.
Today, shares of MMTLP are still suspended. Meanwhile, shareholders on social media are still reporting that they have not yet received their shares of Next Bridge.
That said, the news of a large institution scooping up shares should be encouraging for shareholders. Let’s get into the details.
MMAT Stock: State Street Doubles Down
According to a 13G filing received by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb. 3, State Street (NYSE:STT) owns a total of 14.20 million shares of MMAT as of Dec. 31. As of Sept. 30, State Street reported owning 3.35 million shares during Q3. This means that the firm purchased 10.84 million shares during Q4, increasing its position by a significant 323%.
This sale cements State Street as the largest shareholder of MMAT who has submitted an updated position as of Q4. 10% owner Thomas Welch owns 2.44 million shares and 19.71 million exchangeable shares, although his position is only accurate as of Oct. 25.
Simplex Trading is another large shareholder of the company through call and put options. As of Dec. 31, Simplex owned call options against 1.31 million shares and put options against 268,000 shares.
The deadline for institutional investors to file a Q4 13F form falls on Feb. 14. On that day, MMAT stock shareholders will get a full view of institutional ownership as of Dec. 30. Shareholders should also watch out for BlackRock’s (NYSE:BLK) ownership stake, as it owned 5.53 million shares as of Sept. 30.
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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.
