Sent to NASD, SEC, and Fidelity today:
Don't know if this will help, but I don't think it'll hurt either. In case anyone's interested, I sent the following to the NASD and SEC today, then forwarded a copy to Fidelity.
I would like to bring to your attention the trading and price action in Interdigital Communications Corp. (IDCC) on April 10, 2006, and the circumstances surrounding what I consider to be a highly suspicious decline in the company's stock price. I believe my contention to be pervasive among fellow investors in IDCC. Please note that this complaint is not directed toward my broker, Charles Schwab, rather it is aimed at uncovering a possible manipulation of the stock.
Shares in IDCC declined $2.56, or 10.51%, on Monday, April 10, 2006. Being an investor in the company, this struck me as being particularly out of the ordinary. Nothing remarkable occurred in the overall market or the company's sector that day. Nor did there appear to be any news, positive or negative, related to the company.
Through additional research, on Wednesday, April 12, I discovered what appears to be a coordinated, unnecessarily negative, biased set of research reports that were distributed via Fidelity Investments. Specifically, there were approximately five reports, from firms including Ford Equity Research and Columbine Capital. All were distributed by Fidelity prior to trading on April 10, and all were either neutral or negative on IDCC. Please consider the following:
1) Despite the fact that these reports are intended to be separate and independent, every one of them appears to have been written from the same boiler plate, using very similar formatting, some of the same language, etc.
2) One of the particularly negative reports, written by "independent" Ford Equity Research, had actually been written and published to that firm's clients on March 17 or March 18, making me suspicious of whether or not it was mere "coincidence" that Fidelity decided to republish it on April l0, among what seems to be a coordinated distribution of the other reports.
3) One of the things that was pervasive throughout the reports was the blatant, seemingly intentional omission of positive developments at the company. These developments are too numerous to detail fully, but they include a recent major licensing agreement which will produce nearly $300 million in revenue for IDCC over the next five years, as well as the most ambitious share repurchase plan in the company's history. It was precisely these achievements that compelled firms such as Piper Jaffray, First Albany, and Nollenberger Capital to upgrade and significantly raise their respective price targets for IDCC earlier this year. I find it highly suspicious that none of the reports distributed on April 10 contain any mention whatsoever of these positive developments.
Given the recent developments with certain hedge funds colluding with supposed "independent" research firms in an effort to profit via coordinated shorting and suspect research being subsequently released, I am personally beginning to question some aspects of the market's integrity. This recent situation with IDCC doesn't help. I would not be surprised in the least to learn that this "research" was produced and distributed with a specific agenda, and that a fund / multiple funds with sizable short positions orchestrated this price action in IDCC via the activity I described above. In fact, I honestly believe this to be the case.
With regard to these research reports, I believe their suspiciously similar formatting, the coordinated timing of their distribution, and their selective disclosure regarding the company was done in an effort to intentionally, and illegally, manipulate the price of IDCC securities for the benefit of firm(s) with short interests. I trust that you will take this matter as seriously as I do and will immediately pursue it on investors' behalf.
Thank you in advance.
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