Shares Of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings Inc. B Shares Left The Penny Stock Station This Week
It’s one of the “tall tales” you hear from traders now and then. So there I was, in this no volume penny stock and then it turned into a 28-bagger. Sound familiar? If it doesn’t, that’s ok because I’m partially joking. But while the stock market is down 600 points, shares of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings Inc. “B” shares (LTRPB Free Report) have soared from a close on April 14 of $4.51 to highs on the 15th of $134; yes you read that correctly.
Shares of Liberty TripAdvisor Inc. “A” shares (LTRPA Free Report) have climbed from around $2 to highs of $3.48 with more than 20 million shares traded by the early afternoon on Wednesday.
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So What Happened With Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings Stock?
Obviously, there’s something going on right now and amid all of the volatility halts over the last few days, no one seems to know what’s going on with this stock:
Other users on Reddit were mind-blown. Some even wondered how a move like this was even legal. At the same time, many were concerned about the lack of trading volume based on the big move. This is obviously something to keep in mind with any penny stock let alone one that’s up 2,800%.
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Could this simply be a case of a low float penny stock going crazy after some buying came in? In the case of LTRPB, the current O/S sits under 3 million shares. By all accounts, that would fall under the definition of a low float penny stock. But is there more to this story? (feel free to comment with your speculation as well)
What Is Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings?
If you couldn’t guess by the name, it’s got something to do with TripAdvisor. Yes, this is the same TripAdvisor that you’ve probably booked a flight or hotel through in the past. It’s a penny stock? Another “yes”. However, for Liberty TripAdvisor, it holds an ownership interest in TripAdvisor, Inc.
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Specifically, as of its most recent 10K from Feb. 19th, as of December 31, 2019, Liberty Tripadvisor “held an approximate 23% equity interest and 58% voting interest in Tripadvisor.” However, TripAdvisor, Inc. is a separate public company (TRIP Free Report).
Needless to say, as the entire travel sector got hit this year, so too did companies like TripAdvisor as well as Booking (BKNG Free Report), Trivago (TRVG Free Report), and Expedia (EXPE Free Report). But just because Liberty TripAdvisor has an interest in TripAdvisor itself, doesn’t mean it’s one in the same.
Most recently, TripAdvisor took on the initiative to provide economic support to local communities impacted by COVID-19. The Tripadvisor Foundation is committing $1 Million to support organizations serving the most vulnerable populations around the world in response to COVID-19. Are people investing in the wrong stock right now?
We saw a similar situation when Zoom Video was making its way to the public markets. Instead of buying shares of “ZM”, investors looking for a cheap way to buy ZOOM Video, bought shares of “ZOOM”; an unrelated company. Given that Liberty TripAdvisor does have ties to TripAdvisor itself, this may not entirely be the case.
Recent Events For Liberty TripAdvisor
The most recent update from the company came in the form of a request for shareholder meeting filed on April 13. On May 19 the shareholder will vote on several topics including:
- A proposal (which we refer to as the election of directors proposal) to elect Chris Mueller and Albert E. Rosenthaler to continue serving as Class II members of our board until the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders or their earlier resignation or removal;
- A proposal (which we refer to as the auditors ratification proposal) to ratify the selection of KPMG LLP as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020; and
- A proposal (which we refer to as the reverse stock split proposal) to approve the adoption of an amendment to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of our common stock at a ratio of at least 1-for-2 and up to 1-for-20, with the exact ratio within the foregoing range to be determined by our board of directors (or a committee thereof) and publicly disclosed prior to the effectiveness of the reverse stock split.
Could any of these (including a proposed reverse split) be a catalyst behind this recent move for Liberty TripAdvisor stock?
Can Liberty TripAdvisor Stock Go Higher?
This is a question for the ages and one that will only materialize one we figure out what’s happening. In the case of the more liquid LTRPA, shares have plummeted from over $7 to as low as $0.86. In March, the company entered into an agreement with Certares Management LLC where Certares will purchase $325 million of 8% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. Certares has a long list of travel-related names it has invested in. It was also founded by Greg O’Hara.
He’s got a long list of achievements under his belt including Chief Investment Officer of JPMorgan Chase’s Special Investments Group, Executive Chairman of American Express Global Business Travel and …. drumroll please…Vice Chairman of Liberty TripAdvisor Holding.
But the fact remains, the series B shares of Liberty TripAdvisor have run up thousands of percentage points in just a day. So, a few things to consider here; are there rumors floating around that are unconfirmed?; is there confusion between what TRIP is doing and what Liberty TripAdvisor is doing?; what has sparked the initial run for LTRPB specifically?
I’ll leave that for the comments section below. But be aware that the low float scenario here can work for and against traders quickly. So if Liberty TripAdvisor stock is on your list of penny stocks right now, keep that in mind; and leave a comment below on your thoughts about this move.
16 comments
Trading at $18.68 now. (3:15 pm).
That was a crazy SLOW parabolic 4 hour move from $5 to $135. I noticed it at $25 but since I couldn’t figure out what was going on was not going to jump on.
SUSSSSS
I’ve been watching B stock whole day, it started at $4.51 went all the way up to $123+, Shocking
This is stock manipulation call the scc
What does it exactly means ? The Same comapny has one more stock as LTRPA
this looks like pump and dump or some insider trading…. I bought at $80 and watched it climb. I originally put a trailing stop loss at 12% with a triggered stop price around $92. The trailing stop sell was triggered but nothing happened. So I set a stop loss at $102. the stock paused for a while then plummeted and my stop loss was triggered and sold at $22, idk what happened to the trailing stop sell. I guess this is a good learning lesson for me but I am still pissed. I am new to the different types of trading other than market buys and sells. Something fishy was going on with this stock. No way it goes from 4 to 135. It’s a trip advisor stock, who is taking trips right now? Safe to say, I am pretty mad that my trailing stop loss didn’t fill even though it was triggered, my stop loss got filled so low and the market kept pausing. Also, I think there was some pump and dump or insider trading…
Like the above comment says, the SEC needs to look at this but I guess my money is gone. You live and you learn but this is BS.
You are not alone my friend. I bought 125 shares at $25 watched it climb all the way to $113 did everything possible to sell and couldn’t do it. Finally got out at $28.90. It’s impossible for the little guy to make $$ with the constant halts but something doesn’t pass the smell test here and there needs to be a full investigation. This is the last time I will get caught in a “too good to be true” Ponzi scheme.
Sorry this happened to you but a good lesson. A spike like that is very risky to try to get in on (especially since you bought very late at 80$), and when there is very low volume (like with LTRPB) you can’t be confident that your orders will be filled. Remember, someone has to be willing to buy at the same price you are trying to sell… Just because you put a stop loss at 92$ doesn’t mean anybody was willing to buy at that price once the stock started dropping. And as you now know, these things can turn around very quickly
Trailing stop sell only triggers if there is someone willing to buy it. You had to market sell at whatever price someone was willing to pay so on the rise is the only way to sell a stock like this. Take the money and run.
I like your theory. If I had to guess, I think people thought they were investing in TRIP. With similar pricing, it makes sense that there would be confusion. That, coupled with the low volume of total shares available, and the meteoric rise of the price, it makes sense that people (myself included) would hop on board hastily and without due diligence. Regardless, I made $1,300 today off of it so I’m happy.
Do you think you will sell tomorrow or wait and see?
I lost big money today as I got locked in and couldn’t sell, none of the sell orders would go through. Initially noticed when price grew to $11, then $25, then at $35 I decided to jump in, and got initial buy at $50 and then added more with an average price of $90, then when I was about to sell it got locked and nothing was going on for an hour or so. Also, prices at which it would lock in and volume were not random numbers. Not a great feeling at all, ruined my day.
Who in their right mind would pay $90 or above for this? You play Russian Roulette, too?
There was many issues at hand during trading:
1) The news of of LibertyTrip Advisor acquisitions were slowly spreading around the internet. Many hopeful of the possible split.
2) The president’s effort to reopen the economy, which brought investors a light at the end of the tunnel and people traveling once again.
3) Apps and stock trading companies quickly picked up the increase in the price of the stock, and people placed orders at an incredible rate which possibly was too much for the market to handle. Plus current internet/connection speed delays due to the increase of traffic over the internet. So once the system caught up it realized it needed a correction, it is a highly irregular drop, but connection capacity/orders could have been the main issue.
5) Then again it could have been human error…
I have been seeing tbis stock on robinhood and wondered what it was. I watched it start climbing and I was not sure what was happening or why so I didnt jump in. It finally topped at $134 and I was blown away. I figured some type of artificial inflation but I’m a beginner so I just watched and dreamt what my 2k buy in coulda been.
I have watched this stock whole day from $6.51 to $135. I think their plan is to run the LTRPB and keep the LTRPA available where it is around $2 to the people to buy. So, people look at LTRPB and tries to buy LTRPA because of its low value where they feel that it will go up as like the other one. It’s purely pump and dump for LTRPB.