Planet Green—Another Chinese, Low Float Stock—Skyrockets Prior To Halt

Planet Green Holdings Corp PLAG was halted Friday morning for “news pending” after skyrocketing more than 330 percent.

What Happened?

On Thursday afternoon, Planet Green filed a Form 4 indicating the company’s CEO and its chief strategy officer had purchased about 1.17 million shares of common stock.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies with relatively low floats have been experiencing some extreme volatility and trading volume this week, and it’s likely Planet Green’s Form 4 filing got the attention of a number of momentum traders.

Why It’s Important

Yulong Eco-Materials Ltd. YECO skyrocketed more than 600 percent this week after the company announced a $50-million acquisition of the Millennium Sapphire, a 17.9 blue gem that was recently appraised at a value of between $60 million and $90 million. Yulong said it will now begin the process of spinning off its China business, moving its headquarters to New York and focusing on its gemstone business.

The Yulong news seemed to draw a massive amount of trading volume into other U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. After wild trading swings the past two days, here’s a look at how some of these names were trading as of 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday:

• China Recycling Energy Corporation CREG down 4.4 percent.
• JMU Ltd- ADR JMU down 4.9 percent.
• Euro Tech Holdings Company Ltd CLWT up 1 percent.
• China Ceramics Co Ltd CCCL down 9.2 percent.
• China Techfaith Wireless Comm. Tech. Ltd CNTF up 7.9 percent.
• China Advanced Constructn Mtrls Grp Inc CADC down 27.9 percent.
• TDH Holdings Inc PETZ up 40.9 percent.
• ZK International Group Co Ltd ZKIN down 3.5 percent.
• Ossen Innovation Co Ltd OSN up 5.9 percent.

What’s Next?

Planet Green traders are waiting patiently for the trading halt to be lifted, but the first step in the process will be for the company to actually release the news for which is was halted in the first place. Once the news has become public, there will be an update on when the stock will resume trading.

The attention on these low-float stocks has gotten so hot that Planet Green, Yulong, ChinaNet and China Ceramics were four of the top 10 most-searched tickers on Benzinga Pro on Friday.

On Monday, Oct 22., the stock reopened at 10:27 a.m. ET. and traded down nearly 70 percent before again being halted on a circuit breaker.

After a volatile two days and more trading halts, the company announced Tuesday afternoon it's regaining compliance with NYSE listing standards. Shares closed Tuesday at $6.20.

Related Links:

US-Traded, Low Float Chinese Stocks Are Going Crazy

Why Short Percent Of Float Is Meaningless For Most Popular Stocks