Halted Stocks Alert: Why Did FINRA Halt MMTLP Stock?

There have been a few halted stocks on Friday, Dec. 9 and Meta Materials Preferred Shares (OTCMKTS:MMTLP) is one of them. MMTLP stock represents the preferred shares for Meta Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT). The company will spin off its Next Bridge Hydrocarbons business via these shares.

Coming into the event, traders were obviously keeping an eye on both MMAT and MMTLP stock. That is particularly true with the latter being halted.

Shares of MMTLP stock are not faring well lately. The stock shows a 58% decline on Thursday, the last day it traded, and a 64% decline for the week. That’s after falling more than 17% in the prior week. All together, shares are down more than 75% from the high on Nov. 22. That said, volatility is nothing new for MMTLP stock. Shares erupted more than 700% from Oct. 5 to the highs in November.

However, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (or FINRA) had something to say on the matter.

Why Is MMTLP Stock One of Today’s Halted Stocks?

As previously reported at InvestorPlace by Samuel O’Brient: “FINRA confirmed the trading halt this morning on its over-the-counter equities list. It has been given the halt code U3, indicating that it pre-dates [an extraordinary] event … so far, the actions all seem to be above board, with no illegal activities.”

Because of the decision, there is shareholder frustration over the trading halt. That’s even as FINRA is halting trading in an effort to protect current shareholders. Despite the drama, not only does FINRA appear within its right to halt trading in MMTLP stock, but this is actually one of the most common reasons for halted stocks — to try to protect shareholders.

Further, as previously noted, Next Bridge will be an independent public company after the spinoff. However, it will not be a publicly traded company. Instead, “the shares of Next Bridge common stock will be distributed on December 14, 2022 after the close of the trading markets.”

Likewise, a FINRA statement recently noted, “The trading and quoting halt will end concurrent with the deletion of the symbol effective.” In other words, the preferred stock for Meta Materials will be cancelled.

On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell did not have (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.

Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell.

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