The Brighton Markets group of websites sent out teaser emails about their new pump coming up after the close yesterday, giving away their promotion of TALK in the disclaimer. Thanks to Tim Lento for noticing that first.
Their most recent pump, and by far their longest-lasting and most successful, was GNIN. I previously wrote about that stock promotion (in that blog post I also link all their websites that I am familiar with). I also made a bunch of money trading it, as shown by the two trades below (I had a lot of other trades but essentially all of my gains are shown by the two trades below; contrary to what the trades indicate, I made most of my money shorting; I had shorted early and boxed my shares however, which is why most of my profit appears to come from a long).
$2,685profitGNINShort Stock
IB batch import through 3/10
Posted by MichaelGoode /
http://profit.ly/1MnOPP
$11,161profitGNINLong Stock
Speedtrader batch import through 3/10/2013
Posted by MichaelGoode /
http://profit.ly/1MnOOb
As you can see from the chart, the Green Innovations (GNIN) promotion lasted a long time and the promoters got a big second spike after the first dump. iTalk (TALK) has been a far different promotion with far higher volume initially, presumably from people buying in response to calls from the boiler rooms connected with Brighton Markets. The steep ascent and high volume is also likely due partly to the hot pump market and partly to the success of GNIN. I think it likely that TALK will never get close to GNIN’s highs because of the higher volume at the beginning of the pump. Also, short sellers who were squeezed on GNIN will be more cautious shorting TALK, reducing the chances of a short squeeze.
The promotion of TALK by the websites associated with Brighton Markets has not even formally begun (although as I noted above, the pump started over a week ago, likely starting with calls from boiler rooms). But in the teaser emails sent out Friday night the disclaimer clearly states that they are promoting TALK. The disclaimer in the form of an image is even named “TALK_disclaimer”
If you can’t read the fine print, see the full disclaimer at http://investors-alliance.com/edis/talk_disclaimer.php
Excerpt from disclaimer:
Please be advised that investors-alliance.com has been paid $40,000 USD per week by Crystal Financial LLC to send this alert on TALK to perform promotional and advertising services.
Promotion budget: $40,000 per week
Paying party: Crystal Financial LLC
Shares outstanding: 42,500,000
Market cap (as of 5/3/2013): $48.5 million
How will I trade this? I will consider buying it Monday but if I did that I would not hold past Tuesday. The GNIN pump’s high was the day it was finally promoted by all the older Brighton websites, so I will be looking to short once they start promoting TALK via emails.
[Edit 2013-5-28]: I came across an online pump page a week or two ago on TALK as well. It is at http://italkreport.com/
Disclaimer (emphasis mine):
IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This advertising issue of Profit Seeker Online does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by Profit Seeker Online or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. iTalk, (TALK), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising by Crystal Financial, LLC to provide public awareness for TALK for the period of May 24, 2013 through June 24, 2013. Profit Seeker Online and Nextor Media Corp. have used outside research and writers using public information to create the advertisement coming from Profit Seeker Online about TALK. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, Profit Seeker Online and Nextor Media Corp. make no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. Profit Seeker Online is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. Nextor Media Corp. has managed a total production budget of up to $2,750,000 from Crystal Financial, LLC for advertising efforts starting May 24, 2013 until June 24, 2013 and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. Profit Seeker Online is paid $7,800 as an editorial fee from Nextor Media Corp. and also expects to receive new subscriber revenue as a result of this advertising effort. *More information can be received from TALK’s investor relations firm. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like TALK, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, TALK notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the size and growth of the market, the Company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures, technology issues etc.
PDF copy of pump page.
That hasn’t helped the stock price:
Disclaimer: [Edit 2013-5-28 — No position] I have no net position in TALK; I am short 10,000 shares in one account and long 10,000 shares in another account. I may change my position at any time. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above except that I did receive an anonymous threat to kill my wife and daughter, purportedly sent by these promoters but almost certainly not from them. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.
(click to enlarge)
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