What's in a name? Meta Materials soars after Facebook name change

Meta Materials

29/10/2021 10:52

By Sachin Ravikumar
    Oct 29 (Reuters) - Facebook may have unveiled its new
identity at a glitzy event on Thursday, but shares of a
lesser-known Canadian industrial materials company surged in an
apparent case of mistaken identity.
    As Facebook metamorphosed into Meta, shares of Halifax, Nova
Scotia-based Meta Materials Inc  MMAT.O  jumped 26% in
after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.
    The stock was up 5% at $4.79 in premarket trading on Friday,
with nearly 1 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, Facebook
shares were slightly higher.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2RP2H4
    Meta Materials' stock has already been a favorite among
retail investors using Reddit and social media, recording sharp
moves and wild swings in recent months. It had hit an all-time
high of nearly $22 in June.
    The company, which specializes in designing materials used
in a variety of industries like consumer electronics and
aerospace, has a market value of $1.3 billion, according to
Refinitiv.
    Stock markets have witnessed many instances of share prices
reacting due to mistaken identities — like a jump in Zoom
Technologies  ZNTO.PK  at the height of the pandemic, when the
world flocked to the video conferencing platform of the same
name.
    But it was unclear whether it was just the similarity in
names or a coordinated push by "meme-stock" investors — or both
— driving Meta Materials' shares higher.
    "Is the (after-hours) price action real, or are people
buying MMAT thinking they are getting Facebook for really
cheap?" asked one user on a Reddit community dedicated to
discussing Meta Materials' stock, that was created this March.
    Meta Materials could not immediately be reached for comment
on the stock move outside regular business hours.
    George Palikaras, the chief executive of Meta Materials,
appeared to get in on the fun, tweeting on Thursday: "On behalf
of @Metamaterialtec I would like to cordially welcome @Facebook
to the #metaverse."

 (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; Additional
reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)
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