Globaltruck shares soar 2,605%

The Russian market has seen an increase in the frequency of sharp rises in stock prices.

Globaltruck's shares saw a 27-fold increase in price over the course of the year, setting a new record.

The Bank of Russia and the Moscow Exchange are taking action against such practices.

Globaltruck's shares experienced an impressive growth rate of 2605% over the past year, up to September inclusive, according to RBC's flagship ranking of RBC-100 companies based on the exchange turnover of their shares.

No convincing explanations have been provided by analysts for the increase in Globaltruck's stocks, which is solely attributed to the speculative behavior of individual investors.

On July 27, the Moscow Exchange saw Globaltruck shares skyrocket by 100%. Monopoly, the company that holds a majority stake, did not identify any tangible reasons for such a dramatic increase, and instead attributed it to the intentional speculation of buyers.

Investors could easily mix up the shares of Globaltruck (GTRK) and Globaltrans (ticker GLTR). On July 26, the day prior, Globaltrans, a railway carrier, declared plans to move its headquarters from Cyprus to the UAE, and its stock prices rose significantly.

Despite this, Globaltruck's shares continued to experience abnormal growth. On August 11, the stock prices rose by 46.9%, and on September 1, they increased by 71.7%.

On November 1, shares of Globaltruck closed at 524 rubles per piece. Monopoly analysts have determined that the price of 85 rubles is a fair and reasonable value for the stock.

The Moscow Exchange saw a surge in stock prices, impacting not only Globaltruck, but also other second- and third-tier issuers. According to the RBC-100 ranking, trading volume in previously low-liquid stocks rose significantly, with some of them entering the top 100 for the first time in 2023.

Mostotrest, a Russian construction company, saw the greatest increase in trading volume, with a growth of 21,549% over the course of the year.

In September, the share of private investors in trading volume was 81%, a significant increase from the 41% seen in January 2022 when large Western funds were active in the market. This surge in low-liquidity stock acceleration is likely due to the emotional decisions made by these individual investors.

In June, the Moscow Exchange extended discrete auctions to all securities, not just the components of the Moscow Exchange index, and the Central Bank is continuing to work with the Exchange to put an end to such practices.

In September, a new rule was implemented regarding the prices of securities when buying or selling - applications must now be submitted with a deviation of no more than 22% from the closing price of the previous trading day.

At the end of October, the platform removed the limitation on the amount of individual auctions that could be conducted on securities not from the Moscow Exchange index, and also extended the duration of these auctions.