Millions of Investor’s Dollars are Being Trapped.
These three companies had a combined market cap of $563 million at the time they were halted, whose shares can’t be sold! Brings new meaning to the term ‘stop-loss.’
JMP Group (JMG) had a peak gain of 140% – and a halted market cap of $134 million.
Magnitude International Ltd (MAGH) had a peak gain of 73% – and a halted market cap of $236 million.
MaxsMaking Inc. (MAMK) had a peak gain of 257% – and a halted market cap of $216 million.
As we’ve stated before, “Great work by the SEC. Market integrity must be protected at all costs. It’s okay that a good part of Wall Street has gotten to be like a casino. They just have to make sure the casino, isn’t run by the mob.”
This is nonetheless troubling and adds a major new element of risk to investors.
There is now way, no how an investor can screen for companies which may be halted (maybe a large short interest). We can imagine a new boiler plate warning in all IPO prospectus risk section which states, “Our shares can be halted at any time, if regulators suspect potential manipulation in the securities through recommendations made to investors, by unknown persons – via social media to purchase, hold, and/or sell the securities.”
Say what?
Let’s all pray for ‘management integrity,’ meaning management wasn’t involved in any shenanigans, and they get relisted before too long, and damage is contained.
Otherwise just these three, could see $563 million go up in smoke. And that is some serious money.
Original List (October 2025): “Eight Recent IPO Companies Halted for Trading, in the Past Month.”
Three Recent IPO Companies Halted for Trading
JM Group Limited (JMG) – NYSE
Date of IPO: December 2025
Price: $4.00. 3,750,00 shares for $15 million.
Peak Price and Gain: $9.60 | +140%
S-1 Filing
Halt Date: 4:00 AM ET on January 15, 2026, through 11:59 PM ET on January 29, 2025.
Underwriter: Prime Number Capital, LLC
Country: Kowloon, Hong Kong
Primary shareholder is Stanley Ting, with a 41% post-IPO stake.
Legal: Ye & Associates, P.C. acted as U.S. counsel to the Company, and Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP acted as U.S. counsel to the Underwriter in connection with the Offering.
Auditor: WWC, P.C., headquartered in San Mateo, California.
The Reason:
The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of JMG because of potential manipulation in the securities of JMG effectuated through recommendations made to investors by unknown persons via social media to purchase, hold, and/or sell the securities of JMG. These recommendations appear to be designed to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of the securities of JMG. The order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Exchange Act.
Magnitude International Ltd (MAGH) – NASDAQ
Date of IPO: August 2025
Price: $4.00. 2,200,00 shares for $8 million.
Peak Price and Gain: $6.94 | +73.4%
S-1 Filing
Halt Date: 4:00 AM ET on January 15, 2026, through 11:59 PM ET on January 29, 2025.
Underwriter: Bancroft Capital, LLC acted as sole underwriter for the Offering.
Country: Cayman Islands and Singapore
Legal: Concord & Sage PC is acting as U.S. legal counsel to the Company, and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is acting as U.S. legal counsel to Bancroft Capital, LLC..
Auditor: WWC, P.C., headquartered in San Mateo, California.
The Reason:
The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of MAGH because of potential manipulation in the securities of MAGH effectuated through recommendations made to investors by unknown persons via social media to purchase, hold, and/or sell the securities of MAGH and to send screenshots documenting their transaction. These recommendations appear to be designed to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of the securities of MAGH. The order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Exchange Act.
MaxsMaking Inc. (MAMK) – NASDAQ
Date of IPO: July 2025
Price: $4.00. 1,625,000 A shares for $6,500,000.
Peak Price and Gain: $14.30 | +257%
S-1 Filing
Halt Date: 4:00 AM ET on November 17, 2025, and terminating at 11:59 PM ET on December 1, 2025.
Underwriter: Joseph Stone Capital, LLC acted as the sole underwriter for the Offering.
Country: Shanghai, China
Legal: Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP acted as U.S. counsel to the Company, and Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP acted as U.S. counsel to the underwriter, in connection with the Offering.
Auditor: WWC, P.C., headquartered in San Mateo, California.
The reason:
The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of MAMK because of potential manipulation in the securities of MAMK, which appears to be designed to artificially inflate the price and volume of the securities of MAMK. The order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Exchange Act.
(We’ve read 15 of these ‘halt reasons,’ and this is the first one that didn’t say ‘done by unknown persons.’ Do they know someone?’ Hmm..only time will tell.)
Also here’s something we don’t see to often. The company issued a press release when the halt expiration date passed, but the halt did not:
“Mr. Xiaozhong Lin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MaxsMaking, remarked: “As I stated previously, we are proud of our successful Nasdaq IPO in July 2025. We are committed to continuing to build value for our shareholders. We do not condone improper trading activity in our securities, and we are pleased to have added an expert to our team to reassure securities regulators about our commitment to compliance with securities laws and regulations. We will support all legal efforts to pursue aggressively any persons who seek to harm the Company’s shareholders or impact artificially the value of the Company’s securities.”
Does that mean if an investor jumps up and down and yells “to the moon” in the chat boards that they can be prosecuted for attempting to ‘artificially’ boost the value of their share holdings? Isn’t that like getting in trouble for yelling GO CHICAGO BEARS!
We’re talking millions of overly enthusiatic investors doing this on an everyday basis. There isn’t jail big enough.
MaxsMaking Inc. Addresses SEC Trading Suspension and Affirms Full Cooperation with Regulators
(Spoiler alert, the press release didn’t help, as it still hasn’t traded since December 1st!)
