Nasdaq has imposed a trading halt on Hunter Maritime Acquisition's securities after an unusual leap in its share price.
The Saverys-backed company's share price has increased by over 1,000% since Friday, despite not releasing any news during this time.
Nasdaq has asked Hunter to provide any information it has relating to the activity seen this week, according to a press statement on Wednesday.
Hunter's share price has traded flat at just over the $9.00 mark since the company was first listed in 2016, closing at $9.35 on Friday.
However, the stock jumped to $95 per share on Monday and hit a high of $103.90 on Tuesday, before closing again at the $95 mark.
"The company is cooperating with Nasdaq’s inquiries to permit a timely and orderly resumption of trading," Hunter said in its statement today.
The company has a relatively small equity float of 10.9 million shares and just 15.17 million shares outstanding, according to Bloomberg data.
Companies with a low number of shares available for trading are particularly susceptible to volatile swings in pricing, which could account for Hunter's sudden boost.
That being said, the reason behind the proportionally large trading volumes — 480,683 shares on Tuesday alone — has yet to be explained.
The share price jump has inflated Hunter's market capitalisation to $1.8bn from $185.1m at the end of 2017, according to Bloomberg data.
Hunter is a blank-cheque special purpose acquisition company originally formed for the purpose of acquiring vessels.
On Friday, the company completed its merger with NCF Wealth Holdings Limited, a China-based financial technology company.
Before the merger closed, the company last week closed a tender of its Class A common shares, but failed to sell as many as had been hoped.
The company had aimed to raise around $22.2m, but ended up making $19.7m, according to a filing last Wednesday.
In contrast, Hunter's initial public offering raised $152m in 2016, with which it intended to buy bulkers at the bottom of the cycle. It has never bought any ships.
Hunter received a notification of deficiency from Nasdaq in January for its failure to hold an annual meeting.
The company is 25% owned by Bocimar International, according to filings, and is led by Alexander Saverys.
TradeWinds has contacted Hunter for comment.
