Hangover Joe's Holding Corp. (fka HJOE)

[elbiatcho1]

Why would the SEC suspend trading of a stock when it knows that such action will hurt current shareholders?

The SEC suspends trading in a security when it is of the opinion that the suspension is required in the public interest and to protect investors. Because a suspension often causes a dramatic decline in the price of the security, the SEC suspends trading only when it believes that the public may be making investment decisions based on a lack of information, or false or misleading information. A suspension may prevent potential investors from being victimized by a fraud.

On January 21, 2016, Corporation Finance sent a delinquency letter to HJOE requesting compliance with its periodic filing requirements but HJOE did not receive the delinquency letter due to its failure to maintain a valid address on file with the Commission as required by Commission rules (Rule 301 of Regulation S-T, 17 C.F.R. Section 232.301 and Section 5.4 of EDGAR Filer Manual).

As of October 13, 2016, the common stock of HJOE was quoted on OTCLink, had seven market makers, and was eligible for the “piggyback” exception of Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11(f)(3). The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of the above-listed companies.

Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(k), that trading in the securities of the above-listed companies is suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m. EDT on October 24, 2016, through 11:59 p.m.EDT on November 4, 2016.

LOL, SEC suspended HJOE, not by request!

If a broker-dealer does not have confidence that a company’s financial statements are reasonably current and accurate in all material respects, especially in light of the questions that may have been raised by the SEC suspension action, then a broker-dealer may not publish a quote for the company’s stock. The OTC markets function through dealer systems where only broker-dealers may quote and facilitate trading in OTC stocks.

In contrast to stocks that trade in the OTC market, stocks that trade on an exchange resume trading as soon as an SEC suspension ends.

Extra long suspension?