first one has to recognize that illegally manipulating stock on the poorly watched OTC is imo the rule not the exception
while i can only speak about the co.s i'm actually aware of based on my own DD .. based on years .. in one case 7 .. another 4 but usually on avg 3 to 5 year's observations and ongoing DD
expo holdings is a legit co. .. but like *many* legit co.s that came public via a r/m .. imo in a shell that was littered with ftds' never cleaned up .. meaning the cycle of manipulation is endemic from the start
i first looked at expo's trading via rt l2 as a favor to an ihub friend (exph long) who asked me for my input back in the spring of 2008
i saw the manipulation from the very first but it was no different from other co.s i too knew to be legit .. which to me is a given on the OTC regardless of whether the co. is fully transparent or not
as i've posted .. being a legit co. in no way assures said co.s survivability
now if the expectation is that expo's mgmt would be seasoned enough from the start as a newly pubco to have knowledge of this inherent *manipulation* i will strongly disagree .. that has not been my experience
hindsight is 20/20 .. and imo having spoken with more than a few mgmts' over the past few years .. few expect their stock will be preyed upon the moment it comes public .. which is exactly what happens and is just one of the patterns easily discerned
==
there were 2 well orchestrated runs on exph in 2009 .. in between those runs .. there were what i coined *curious* trades done usually 4 to 6 ticks below what *exph was trading* (these trades from memory ran about about 1/4 of the day's volume) think about the money that was being done daily .. mini run .. short down cover .. mini run .. short down .. cover .. and so it would go for well over 2+ months on exph in 2009 b4 etc was successfully launched on 9/15/2009
i posted about them in rt (real time) of course volume on exph was running on avg 40M+ or so .. back from july to sept 2009 so they may have not been as noticeable to folks as they were to me
again this was b4 the 2nd orchestrated run and my *awareness* of exactly *who/which entity/s* were involved wasn't *known* then
==
bottom line is this .. if one doesn't believe that there is stock manipulation on the OTC .. or against legit co.s like expo holdings .. they aren't going to agree with my posts
i'm totally comfortable ~ from educating myself .. to calling folks at the sec and finra .. to contacting compliance officers at respective MMs' .. to filing complaints .. to talking to mgmt
btw .. there is no *simple* or easy explanation for this since while there may be some *similarities* .. each co. and stock will be handled differently .. it's why i keep asking of this venue .. doesn't it strike others how odd after all those shares pumped thru at .0001 .. that exph isn't no bid .. and many of us haven't had our bids filled .. and the only ones who have are those with ETRADE accounts?
but mostly how truly *erratic* the volume is and has been for well over a year now .. unless there is a frenzy done (and there have been 5 now since 11/29) .. there is no volume to speak of
funny how exph showed *short* data for the end of december and even more *odd* was it was the highest shown for ALL of 2010 coming in a month when there were 2 record setting volume days stock traded
lastly (well not really) .. i don't consider any of this *futile* it's not pretty and as a sor i can understand folks' frustrations re: the pps and even the SS .. which is just one of the reasons i'm completely dispassionate about a co.s PPS and never base my DD around it .. rather on what the co. is doing and whether they can indeed survive
== i fully expect mgmt will give full transparency starting with BOD appointments
i look forward to exph having its first ever content driven run
and depending on who the new ceo is and *intent* going forward where ETC is concerned .. i have hopes the co. is taken private regardless of what is on offer out of current mgmt .. who flat out refute my speculation .. which is exactly what i'd do in their shoes
my posts are my opinion based on MY DD and i have zero expectations of changing mindsets .. what i am interested in is seeing what is revealed and when by mgmt .. and then discussing those events in this venue in due course
i look forward to what is known and shown based on facts
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
