Keith Gill Drove the GameStop Reddit Mania. He Talked to the Journal.

[Baron]

Hey, I'm just speculating. I could be completely wrong about it all. But given the extreme movement in the stock and the publicity it has created, my gut feeling is that the SEC is going to drop the hammer on someone.

 

[Maverick2608]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that he will probably be sued for market manipulation because he was likely front running. If he took positions in advance of touting the stock to a large group of people, then he better buckle up and get a good attorney. Stock advisory services via chat rooms, newsletters, etc. have been getting prosecuted for that type of behavior by the regulators for as long as I can remember.

But how is that different from what e.g. Citron Research has done for a couple decades? I think he will be ok. After all he made a detailed investment case more than a year before and made a monthly update tracking his position. That is perfectly fine.

However, others who have argued to buy the stock solely to provoke a short squeeze and who have tried to coordinate collective buying on Reddit may have crossed the line. It will be difficult for the regulator, however, because there are probably a vast number of people who have done that around the globe over the last couple of weeks.

 

[ElCubano]

If he has not sold a share and is holding as per how everyone on Reddit is blabbing about “holding the line” they will probably have nothing to charge him with. If he is being transparent and only owns one stock to talk about I don’t see how without false claims they can really do anything unless it’s a witch-hunt driven by others. Again speculation, because I haven’t read anything on his Reddit thread all I see are pics off his position making and losing huge. If that is true that he has held with those swings and not sold is what we should really be talking about lol. F$$k.

although I agree they will bring down the hammer.

 

[Butterfly]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that he will probably be sued for market manipulation because he was likely front running. If he took positions in advance of touting the stock to a large group of people, then he better buckle up and get a good attorney. Stock advisory services via chat rooms, newsletters, etc. have been getting prosecuted for that type of behavior by the regulators for as long as I can remember.

absolutely, those chat rooms are basically the new boiler rooms of unregistered "dodgy" investment advisors

if you are giving out investment advice on a massive scale without being registered, sans a compliance manual for giving investment advice, you are basically in shit territory with the SEC and your home state regulator.

 

[Butterfly]

Interesting point, but to me his actions look quite similar to everyone posting articles on Seeking Alpha. I haven’t researched whether any of those people posting on Seeking Alpha been sued, but I’d suspect it’s rare, if it ever happened. And plenty of them openly battle short sellers, just without as much luck.

there is an SEC exception for publishing investment advice, with the right disclosure. If SA didn't put in place those disclosure, they could be sued, and so would the authors.

The case here with the TikTok and Redit traders is that they raiding trading venues with their recommendations, with enough material impact on the market to trigger an investigation by regulators.

Hang them all I say

Redit will probably get sued or shutdown over this, because they didn't have the proper disclosure in place. This is the SEC hot buttons.

 

[Cuddles]

are TSLA price targets by hedge funds/banks & subsequent press articles market manipulation? inquiring minds need to know.

 

[Overnight]

..

If he would have just taken the position privately and not constantly promoted it, there would be no problem. It's market manipulation because it involves exposing other people to the position through the channel and then persuading them why it's a good investment...

And there's something else that caught my eye in some article somewhere about him...He is currently registered as a CFA? Doesn't that make him a professional trader, subject to all those rules thereof?

Even by just posting his current positions, could that be construed as "giving investment advice"?

 

[Pekelo]

The difference is that the CNBC talking heads you are referring to are discussing all sorts of stocks and in very brief spurts.

That is an interesting distinction. How about not a talking head, but a company CEO who has only one product/stock to push?

Let's the stock/crypto be not even the the company stock itself. For example if they get the Greyscale or Microstrategy boss on TV they will only push Bitcoin. MSTR's CEO won't even push MSTR stock, but he will shill for BTC.

I don't see the distinction there, they are the same as a YT guy with one stock interest. He will sure be sued, but has a good case, I think.

 

[Butterfly]

And there's something else that caught my eye in some article somewhere about him...He is currently registered as a CFA? Doesn't that make him a professional trader, subject to all those rules thereof?

Even by just posting his current positions, could that be construed as "giving investment advice"?

he might be losing his CFA chartholder designation with that shit, he violated quite a few chapters of the CFA code of conduct with those YT videos

 

[Cuddles]

he might be losing his CFA chartholder designation with that shit, he violated quite a few chapters of the CFA code of conduct with those YT videos