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Controlling Market Makers
One thing traders should pay attention to when trading penny stocks on over-the-counter markets is whether a single market maker is controlling most of the order flow. This is likely a sign that the market maker is filling a large order, and may artificially keep the bid or ask price consistent for most of the day by only buying or releasing shares at a certain price. The purpose of this for the market maker is that it allows them to successfully fill a large limit order.
In this case, the market maker is suppressing or inflating the price of a stock – right up until their large trade is nearly finished. Once the order does complete, prices can move sharply to respond to bid and ask prices from across the market for that stock.
Fake Order Size
Market makers can also “trick” the market by releasing an order that’s larger or smaller than the number of shares they really want to buy or sell. As an example, say a market maker puts out an order to sell 10,000 shares of a stock, but really has 100,000 shares to sell. In that case, they might be able to keep the price of the stock artificially high for most of the trade by not letting on that the market will soon be flooded with shares.
Fake Orders
Along the same lines, market makers can artificially push prices around by entering fake orders. Say a market maker issues an order to buy 100,000 shares of a stock, but withdraws the order after only buying 10,000 shares. In that case, the market maker can temporarily move the price of the stock up and create a larger spread in the process.
Conclusion
Market maker signals may or may not be real, but that doesn’t mean that market makers can’t have an effect on prices in the penny stock and micro-cap markets. Still, it’s important not to be overly concerned with market making tactics that push the price of a stock around. By taking responsibility for your own trading and focusing on a profitable strategy, you can largely insulate yourself from any shenanigans that market makers can possibly cause.
