Wouldn't restrictive requirements for E*Trade and other brokerage houses tend to limit the number of Wave shares available?
And if this is true, any demand for shares at all would drive up the price because of the short supply.
I don't know why MM's would be capping Wave--it seems contrary to their best interests. If Wave was left unrestricted and there is upward presure, what do they gain? They make money by turning over shares, not by artificially keeping it low for some future point.
I often have read here about this theory of market-maker manipulation, but for my money, I don't think it is a major factor in the share price.
MMs should be agnostic about the stocks they buy and sell. Obviously, if they thought a stock was getting ready to run, they'd buy some for themselves. But how would they know when it's going to run, or dive, for that matter?
They might be astute enough to see a trend early, but for a MM, it's risky business to either buy or short a stock as thinly traded as Wave. By contrast, they can both avoid any risk and guarantee themselves a profit, just by executing the orders of others.
Anon