Naked Shorting and other Practices
\ BMO sold roughly 600,000 shares over the last 2 days. Is BMO engaging in naked shorting??...Or, someone there "walking" the stock down to meet the bid...Naked shorting allows short sellers to temporarily flood the market with what are effectively artificial shares putting excessive downward pressure on a companys stock price. There is currently no prohibition on "naked shorting" in Canada. Or, alternatively, someone has gotten wind of a pending private placement and moving the market down to profit for a decline...On March 13, 2018, SEC sued one and more perpetuators for illegal stock gains. Steven Fishoff, a California man charged for a serial insider trading scheme that involved two Canadian listings, has pleaded guilty. He entered the plea in an appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp in New Jersey on Friday, March 9. Mr. Fishoff was the last of five defendants to plead guilty. Prosecutors had charged Mr. Fishoff for running a short-selling scheme that included a pair of Toronto Stock Exchange companies. The government said that he and others made $3.9-million because those men were able to receive advance information on secondary offerings [private placements], which can depress a stock's price...Other possible alternatives for the stock decline include shorting against vested options to be exercised with funds from sale to cover for the purchase or "shorting against the box" off a long position. Or, simply someone just dumping an "illiquid" stock?