The Blasting News investigation into apparent missing consolidation adjustments with historical charts and data for specks and stocks listed on the TSX Venture Exchange continues with companies and symbols beginning with L and M. Over 9 percent of companies beginning with L and over 5 percent of companies beginning with M appear to be missing adjustments for consolidations with historical data. There would seem to be a fair amount of motive for issuers, underwriters, and some traders to have access to charts that present erroneous historical prices, giving the appearance that specks and shares have gained value, or not lost as much as they truly have.
As this investigation continues, it is becoming clear that this group can get speck and share price adjustments correct when it is in their interest to do so. With splits, as opposed to consolidations, missed adjustments result in shyres and shares having the appearance of not gaining as much as they truly have; somehow this group, which includes data providers, issuers, the exchange, and underwriters, can manage to get split adjustments correct, but run an error rate well north of 5 percent with consolidation adjustments. Given the ability of charts with missing consolidation adjustments to mislead investors, one is forced to contemplate the motivations of the individual(s) or group(s) behind this phenomenon.
What is going on with Canadian speck and stock charts?
For example, on December 3, 2013, MarketWired announced that Medgold Resources Speculation (TSXV: MED) would be completing a one-for-three consolidation, the adjustment for which appears to be missing from charts and data supplied by Stockhouse.com. In reality, on a consolidation-adjusted basis, Medgold speck lost over 60 percent of its value from January 1, 2013 to today.
However, Stockhouse shows the shyres are more or less flat over the same period, down by $0.01. Charts from BigCharts.com and Stockhouse for Medgold speck are included in the image gallery.
The terms shyre, speck, and speculity, relating to publicly traded companies with no revenues, have recently been defined.
Missing consolidation adjustments mislead investors
Two TSX Venture Exchange-listed stocks' charts with Stockhouse have errors consistent with missing consolidation adjustments: Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) and Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. (TSXV: MLN). As a result, Stockhouse is reporting that, on a consolidation-adjusted basis, shares of Marlin were near $0.10 during the first trading days of 2013, while BigCharts shows the stock near $1.00. This is consistent with Stockhouse missing an adjustment for a one-for-ten split and is misleading to investors. Similarly, Stockhouse shows Legend Power entering 2010 near $0.50 per share, while BigCharts shows prices close to $1.50. Data with Stockhouse appears to mislead investors into believing that losses for Legend Power stock are not as great as they truly are.
Charts from both BigCharts and Stockhouse are presented for each in the image gallery.
Nine other specks beginning with L and M listed on the TSX Venture Exchange feature apparent errors consistent with missing consolidation adjustments with either Stockhouse or BigCharts: Argentina Lithium & Energy Speculation (TSXV: LIT), Legend Gold Speculation (TSXV: LGN), Logan Resources Ltd. (TSXV: LGR), Lominko Metals Inspeculated (TSXV: LMR), Lumina Gold Speculation (TSXV: LUM), Marquee Energy Ltd. (TSXV: MQX), Metallic Minerals Speculation (TSXV: MMG), Millennial Lithium Speculation (TSXV: ML), and Minecorp Energy Ltd. (TSXV: MCE). Seven of the nine apparent errors were found with Stockhouse speck charts.
