What's in a Name? U.K. Stock Surges on Blockchain Rebrand
On-line Plc jumped 394% after announcing plans to change its name to On-line Blockchain Plc.
(Bloomberg) -- A British company that has been investing in internet and information businesses is having its best day on record.
On-line Plc jumped as much as 394 percent on Friday after announcing plans to change its name to On-line Blockchain Plc, following an initial climb of 19 percent on Thursday when it first announced the news. It’s the biggest one-day gain for the small-cap company since its December 1996 listing. The trading volume that reached 2.9 million shares by early afternoon in London is equal to more than 16 times the entire year’s trading before the last two days.
“Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are a new and exciting area we have been working on for some time,” the Essex-based company said in a statement on Thursday. “We feel the time is right to re-name the company to reflect these developments, where we believe the future growth will be in our sector.”
The shares pared gains after the company published a follow-up release on Friday, cautioning investors that the development of its blockchain product is still at an early stage. Still, the 238 percent rise as of 2:36 p.m. in London leaves the company’s market value of 4.4 million pounds ($5.8 million) at its highest since 2005.
This isn’t the first time that investors have gotten excited about a name. Shares in Colorado-based Bioptix Inc. nearly doubled in value in the days leading up to its name change to Riot Blockchain Inc. earlier this month. In what seems to be a case of mistaken identity, a New York-based startup called SNAP Interactive Inc. jumped more than 150 percent in the days after Snap Inc. filed for a $3 billion initial public offering in February. Little-known SNAP Interactive makes mobile dating apps, while Snap Inc. is the parent of the popular Snapchat photo-sharing app.
--With assistance from Gaurav Panchal
To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Pham in London at lpham14@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Kasper Viita, Paul Jarvis
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