For an unclear reason, shares of Trinity Place (NYSEMKT:TPHS) — a real estate holding, investment, development and asset management firm — soared over 120% on Monday. No immediate corporate-specific news explains the dramatic lift in TPHS stock. However, it’s possible that a combination of economic projections for its key market and retail investor speculation bolstered sentiment.
Currently, TPHS stock carries a market capitalization of just over $12 million with a share price of 19 cents. These two factors easily make shares susceptible to wild swings. It’s worth noting that the average trading volume for Trinity is around 1.54 million shares. However, volume on Monday shot up to nearly 137 million shares.
Part of the enthusiasm could be related to the company’s efforts to stay listed on the NYSE American exchange. At the start of this month, management revealed that on Feb. 21, the exchange operator notified Trinity that it had reviewed its plans for compliance. Further, the operator accepted the plan and granted a cure period through May 29, 2025.
Sparking this issue was a letter that Trinity received on Nov. 29 of last year, in which the NYSE American indicated that TPHS stock did not comply with the exchange’s listing standards. Specifically, Trinity reported a shareholders’ deficit of $1.2 million and operating losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years.
TPHS Stock May Be Reacting to Positive Regional News
Fundamentally, it’s possible that TPHS stock could be responding to positive regional news. According to Trinity’s Form 10-K disclosure, the company’s largest asset is a property located at 77 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan. As of March 31, 2023, the property was nearing completion as a mixed-use project consisting of a 90-unit residential condominium tower, retail space and an elementary school.
Potentially helping matters for TPHS stock is economic data in New York City. The latest print shows a steadily rising trend of total non-farm payrolls from January 2023 to January 2024. Subsequently, a robust labor market should bode well for Trinity’s efforts in the sale and closing of the residential condominium units located in the Greenwich Street property.
Other than this possible explanation, it’s difficult to identify other catalysts. As a nano-capitalization play, TPHS stock does not have an underlying options market. And while there is short interest, it’s very modest at only 1.33% of the float.
On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.
Read More: Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
