One of today’s biggest market movers is Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (NASDAQ:CSSE). While CSSE stock doesn’t typically see much extreme price action, shares are skyrocketing today at levels impossible to ignore. As of this writing, CSSE stock is up more than 100% for the day. The fact that this is happening just halfway through the trading day makes it a particularly noteworthy move. But maybe even more eye-catching is the fact that this surge isn’t being driven by any company-specific news. As InvestorPlace‘ contributor William White reports:

“CSSE’s status as a penny stock has some disadvantages for the company. One is that it is more easily manipulated by traders who pump and dump its shares […] Considering the heavy movement and lack of news, this could be what’s happening to CSSE stock today. If so, investors will want to be wary about taking a stake in the company right now.”

Gains of this magnitude from a penny stock definitely call to mind a classic pump-and-dump scheme. It’s also possible that CSSE stock has caught the attention of the retail investor crowd, who may see shares as the next meme sensation.

While neither scenario makes CSSE a good buy, both are worth considering as investors mull over today’s strange move upward. It’s also worth considering who are the top shareholders of the company. Let’s take a closer look.

CSSE Stock: Top Investors in Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment

Institutional investor sentiment toward CSSE stock is mixed, according to data from WhaleWisdom. During the previous quarter, the number of 13F shares declined more than 20%, as did percentage of ownership. However, both the number of new and increased positions have risen significantly while closed and reduced positions have fallen. Finally, while the put/call ratio has fallen, it currently sits at 0.06.

Here are the top investors in CSSE stock:

• Chicken Soup for the Soup Holdings: 10.96 million shares. The company added 2.99 million shares this month.
• HPS Investment Partners: 1.01 million shares. HPS made no changes to its CSSE stock position during the fourth quarter of 2023.
• Royce & Associates: 477,611 shares. Royce sold 250,037 shares of CSSE stock during Q4.
• Vanguard Group: 158,744 shares. Vanguard decreased its position by 536,840 shares during Q4.
• Geode Capital Management: 104,769 shares. Geode made no changes to its CSSE holdings during Q4.

On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks. 

Read More: Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed

On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient 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.