{"id":2029406,"date":"2023-09-12T15:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T19:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sec-refuses-to-confirm-if-meme-stock-meta-materials-under-investigation-after-2022-trading-halt\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T15:10:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T19:10:51","slug":"sec-refuses-to-confirm-if-meme-stock-meta-materials-under-investigation-after-2022-trading-halt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sec-refuses-to-confirm-if-meme-stock-meta-materials-under-investigation-after-2022-trading-halt\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC declines to confirm investigation of meme stock Meta Materials following 2022 trading halt."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsec-refuses-to-confirm-if-meme-stock-meta-materials-under-investigation-after-2022-trading-halt%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2029406&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Meta Materials, \u2064a functional materials and nanocomposites producer that became\u200c a darling of \u2062the meme \u200cstock community, may or may not be \u200dunder investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says Chair Gary Gensler.<\/p>\n<p>Late last year, Meta Materials\u2063 was targeted \u200dby retail investors after gaining the attention of meme traders. Shares rallied as much as\u2063 143 \u2062percent\u2062 over three\u2062 months, topping $2.<\/p>\n<p>Heading into 2023, Meta Materials planned to spin off Next Bridge Hydrocarbons, a subsidiary the \u200bfirm owned entirely. The entity informed the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on Dec. 7 that it intended to convert its \u2062over-the-counter (OTC) Meta Materials preferred shares (MMTLP) to shares of what would eventually become Next Bridge. Meta announced a day later \u200dthat it\u200b received notice of a\u2062 revision of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rubio-targets-tyranny-of-nationless-woke-corporations-in-new-bill\/\" title=\"Rubio Targets \u2018Tyranny\u2019 Of \u2018Nationless\u2019 Woke Corporations In New Bill\">corporate action<\/a> by FINRA.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/amc-bed-bath-beyond-tank-as-meme-stock-frenzy-crushed-4680781\">AMC, Bed Bath \u2063&#038; Beyond Tank As Meme Stock Frenzy Crushed<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/22\/2022<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/amc-bed-bath-beyond-tank-as-meme-stock-frenzy-crushed-4680781\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/analysis-hong-kong-stock-market-challenged-as-bear-market-persists-part-2-of-2-post-5484741\">ANALYSIS: Hong Kong Stock Market \u2062Challenged \u200das\u200c Bear Market \u200bPersists (Part 2 of 2)<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/9\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/analysis-hong-kong-stock-market-challenged-as-bear-market-persists-part-2-of-2-post-5484741\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>FINRA halted trading of MMTLP on its \u2064OTC equities list on Dec. 9 and reopened it on Dec. 13. MMTLP\u200d shares were canceled by the \u200cissuer on Dec. 14.\u200d Many traders were taken aback \u200bby the decision, \u2064with \u200bsome asserting that Meta Materials had engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sec-refuses-to-confirm-if-meme-stock-meta-materials-under-investigation-after-2022-trading-halt\/\" title=\"SEC declines to confirm investigation of meme stock Meta Materials following 2022 trading halt.\">market manipulation amid elevated short interest<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>FINRA issued a statement in March confirming that it did not cancel any MMTLP shares.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;FINRA did not cancel \u2063the\u200d MMTLP shares. The issuer, Meta Materials, canceled the shares effective Dec. 14,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leading-house-democrat-advocates-new-agency-to-regulate-ai\/\" title=\"Top Democrat proposes new AI regulatory agency.\">regulatory \u200dagency<\/a>\u2063 said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In fact, FINRA does not and cannot cancel any\u200d securities that \u200bare issued \u2063by a \u2062company\u2014this was an action of the\u2063 issuer. However, just\u200c as FINRA assigns symbols to unlisted \u2062securities,\u200c FINRA also can unassign or\u200d &#8216;delete&#8217; a symbol, for example, where\u200c it is no longer\u2062 needed \u2062to quote or trade a security. In\u200b this case,\u200b FINRA deleted\u200b the MMTLP symbol on Dec. 13 in light of the imminent cancellation of the shares as\u2064 announced by the company in connection with the Next\u200d Bridge \/ MMTLP corporate action.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In April, Meta announced that it would offer shares of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chelsea-clinton-sits-on-board-of-company-accused-of-defrauding-investors\/\" title=\"Chelsea Clinton Sits on Board of Company Accused of Defrauding Investors\">common stock<\/a> and\u2064 warrants\u2064 to buy shares of its common stock in\u2062 an underwritten public \u2064offering. The company\u2062 said that it would use the net proceeds from the corporate action for working capital and general corporate purchases. \u200cThe underwritten public offering of more than 83 million shares was priced at $0.30 a share.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    The stock \u2064has cratered in 2023, falling about 80 percent year to date, to $0.21 per share.<\/p>\n<h2>SEC on Meta Materials<\/h2>\n<p>    \u200c In \u200dan exchange\u200b with SEC \u2062Chair Gensler, Sen. \u2063Mike Crapo (D-Idaho) explained that many investors \u200bhave requested information regarding\u200c what happened, the\u2063 inability to\u2063 sell the stock, and any potential Internal Revenue Service implications through Freedom of Information requests.\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Gensler noted that the SEC and FINRA are \u2063separate organizations, and it did \u200cnot seek any advice, clarity, or permission to halt Meta Materials shares.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The SEC&#8217;s role is to investigate many things in the capital\u200b markets. We \u2064don&#8217;t speak to specific investigations, but we do on a regular basis, \u200cexamine them raw for compliance with their rules and examine them \u2064on a regular basis,&#8221; Mr. Gensler said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on \u2063Sept. 12.<\/p>\n<p>While\u200b the \u2064SEC is aware of what happened surrounding Meta Materials, Mr. Gensler asserted that he cannot speak to any specific investigation to protect the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-us-department-of-state-issues-warnings-this-morning-the-chinese-communist-party-poses-a-real-threat\/\" title=\"BREAKING: US Department of State Issues Warnings This Morning \u2013 \u201cThe Chinese Communist Party Poses a Real Threat\u201d\">financial markets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After a\u2064 bumpy start to 2023, Meta Materials&#8217; performance in the second quarter deteriorated. On\u2062 a year-over-year basis, revenues plunged 39 \u200dpercent, net income plummeted 1,300 percent, and diluted earnings per share declined 829 percent. Net profit\u2064 margin was down an astounding 2,200 percent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Meta Materials announced on Sept. \u206211 that \u2062it raised $50 million in\u200b a\u200d common stock purchase agreement with <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>as 1,000% in January. However, Chair Gary Gensler of the SEC has not confirmed if the company is being investigated. Meta Materials is known for its production of functional materials and nanocomposites, and it gained popularity among meme stock enthusiasts. The stock experienced a significant surge in value due to the attention from retail investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":2029407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2029406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2029406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2029406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}