James Langton
Securities regulators have long targeted “pump-and-dump” schemes that aim to drive up stock prices with baseless hype. Now, regulators are going after so-called “short-and-distort” campaigns, in which short-sellers badmouth companies in an effort to drive down stock prices.
Certain Bay Street factions have long complained about the role of short-sellers in the Canadian market. More recently, there have been concerns about the threat of activist short-sellers traders who don’t just quietly bet against companies they see as overvalued, but broadcast their views to the rest of the market.
Critics complain that activist short-sellers can make baseless allegations against a company in order to drive down its stock price and lock in an easy profit. Defenders of the practice argue these gadflies can help expose corporate misconduct and serve as an important check on the overwhelmingly positive bias in mainstream analyst coverage.