Torchlight Energy shares surge 15% after upsized stock offering

Meta Materials

22/06/2021 12:36

June 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Torchlight Energy Resources
Inc  TRCH.O  rose more than 15% early on Tuesday, with
small-time investors piling into the latest social media-hyped
stock trade after the oil and gas producer upsized its share
offering to $250 million. 
    Last week, Torchlight announced plans to raise $100 million
and on Monday increased the offering by $150 million after its
shares surged 74% in value. The company last week also declared
https://bit.ly/3zVN4Sb a special dividend of preferred stock to
be issued to shareholders who held its shares as of market close
on June 24.
    The company is being acquired by industrial materials maker
Metamaterial Inc  MMAT.CD  in a deal that analysts say will
likely see its current main business sold or hived off.    
    The stock, which has risen more than 10 times in value since
the start of the year, was trading at $11.18 before the bell on
Tuesday, on track to open at a record high. 
    Torchlight was also the top traded stock before the bell for
a second straight day, with more than 4.6 million shares
changing hands by 7:30 a.m. ET.
    Plano, Texas-based Torchlight traces its roots back to Pole
Perfect, incorporated in 2007 in Nevada to develop and market
feminine fitness dance studios utilizing the advantages of pole
dancing. 
    In November 2010, Pole Perfect bought Torchlight Energy and
abandoned all of its previous business plans within the health
and fitness industries before formally changing its name to
Torchlight in 2011. 
    Torchlight, which had a net loss of $2.1 million in the
first three months of this year, has warned repeatedly that it
had substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going
concern. 
    The company produced 28 barrels of oil and 711,000 cubic
feet of gas with total sales of $2,471 in the quarter to March
30. 

 (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
 ((arathys.nair@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 8780 (Extn 2726);
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArathySom;))