Shares in a Hong Kong tech company jumped by an astronomical 32,000 per cent this week – and not even the company knows why.
AMTD Digital went public in mid-July, with shares available for around $7.80 when it first listed.
The company offers services to develop online businesses’ financial services technology. It had 50 members of staff as of the end of February this year, according to a stock market filing.
But by August it had become one of the most talked-about companies on the market after its stock price skyrocketed to $2,555 per share.
On Monday, AMTD Digital thanked investors and said it “noted significant volatility” in trading.
“The company is also monitoring the market closely for any unusual trading activities or abnormalities,” the statement said.
Its value rose above $300 billion on Tuesday, meaning that AMTD Digital briefly overtook technology giant Alibaba’s New York stock market valuation.
It is thought the meteoric rise in the value is down to it becoming a “meme stock”, where shares gain popularity among retail investors through social media.
In one Reddit thread asking “why isn’t anyone talking about this” a user shared a photo of the stock rising 5,607.69 per cent over the past month.
“Because this is a pump and dump obviously…. nothing organically raises 5000%” says a user named The_BitCon, before someone replies “You say that like this sub wasn’t built on pump and dumps…”
The price has since dropped to $750 per share, still up considerably from its initial $7.80 share valuation.
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