America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 343 Pusher

Nasdaq has two bell-ringing times: either at 9:30 a.m. when the stock market opens, allowing companies to make a high-profile appearance as the market awakens; or at 4 p.m. when the market closes, to bring a ceremonial end to the day's trading.

Like a grand concert, some people prefer the climax at the beginning, while others like to leave a lingering impression at the end. YueDong Games Company clearly belongs to the former, choosing to ring the bell at the opening, determined to grab everyone's attention from the very first second of the stock market opening.

From dawn, the Nasdaq trading center was already bustling with people, and the air was filled with a tense atmosphere that mixed the smell of coffee with the smell of money.

Just after nine o'clock in the morning, the host walked onto the stage with a spirited expression and a standard professional smile on his face, a smile so warm it seemed to melt the Antarctic glaciers.

The sound spread throughout the trading hall through the speakers, instantly igniting the atmosphere. People who had been talking in hushed tones stopped and focused their attention on the center of the stage.

Following that, YueDong Games selected seven representatives to take the stage and give speeches in turn.

They shared insights on everything from the iterative upgrades of the game engine to product planning, the internal employee atmosphere, and overseas expansion. Although each person had a different style, they all conveyed a common message: Leap Games has a promising future.

Time ticked by, and when the clock on the wall steadily pointed to ten o'clock, the entire room fell silent.

The entire team from YueDong Games walked onto the stage in an orderly fashion, each person wearing a uniform custom-made outfit with the company logo printed on their chest, their faces beaming with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

Ryan Royce, representing the company, stood before the bell-ringing button and took a deep breath.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he slowly raised his hand and pressed the button forcefully.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The crisp and resounding chime instantly echoed throughout the Nasdaq trading center, its magic seemingly propelling the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

As the bell tolled, a sudden burst of unified shouts erupted from the crowd.

"LGC! LGC!"

The stock ticker of YueDong Games became the only voice on the entire Nasdaq at that moment.

The sound was deafening and powerful, as if it would burst through the roof of the trading center and resound throughout Wall Street.

Accompanied by shouts, colorful fireworks slowly descended from the sky. Red, blue, yellow, purple—countless firework scraps danced in the air, like a dazzling snowflake rain, engulfing the entire trading hall.

People at the scene raised their cameras to capture this unforgettable moment, some even embracing each other excitedly. The whole scene was as lively as Christmas, except that it wasn't Christmas that was being celebrated, but rather a carnival of capital.

Ernst breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the members of the Leap Games team move outside the Nasdaq Stock Exchange to take photos with the huge electronic screen.

He touched his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily, and it would be a lie to say he didn't feel a sense of accomplishment.

I've finally built my own business, cleared the startup phase, and am now entering a new era of development, ready to embrace even more challenges and opportunities.

Just as Ernst was lost in his thoughts, Paulson's voice suddenly rang in his ear, "You don't seem to like this process."

Ernst turned to look at Paulson and said calmly, "There's no such thing as liking or disliking it, it's just that this process is too cumbersome. In my opinion, it's a sign of insecurity."

In Ernst's view, truly capable companies don't need these fancy ceremonies to prove themselves; their performance and products are the best calling cards.

Don't think it's over after the bell ringing. Ryan Ruiz will also be interviewed by the media and host a banquet at noon to connect with investors.

This isn't over yet; the afternoon is also for the media.

However, it wasn't the kind of public interview we see now, but rather the kind of exclusive interviews that appear on TV shows or in magazines.

Basically, it all boils down to one thing: constantly boasting and painting a rosy picture for investors.

Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!

Paulson smiled helplessly when he heard Ernst's words. "You know, not all companies are as sought after as Leap Motion."

More than 90% of the companies that go public on Nasdaq each year are companies whose names investors may never have even heard of.

For these companies, marketing is essential; these rituals, though tedious, are a crucial means of attracting investor attention.

As Paulson spoke, he pointed to the lively crowd around him. "Look, the reason so many people are paying attention to the movement is partly due to these ceremonies, isn't it?"

Ernst did not refute Paulson's words because he knew that Paulson was telling the truth.

In the capital market, even the best wine needs advertising, especially for small, unknown companies. To attract investors, they must use various marketing methods to increase their brand awareness.

Ernst looked around and found that almost all the large screens in the venue were filled with LGC's stock information.

Without a doubt, the stock of YueDong Games is the absolute focus of Nasdaq today.

In its IPO, YueDong Games set the offering price at $50 per share, issuing a total of 20 million shares and raising a total of one billion US dollars.

For many people, this is simply a golden opportunity to make money.

As expected, after the market opened, the price of YueDong Games skyrocketed, rising at a visible speed.

The increase in buy quotes can no longer be described in cents; it has jumped directly to the dollar.

$50 —

$51.46 —

$52.68 —

$53.17 —

$54.28 —

The stock price soared, the numbers on the screen kept refreshing, and the atmosphere at the scene became more and more enthusiastic.

Some investors stared intently at the screen, their fists clenched, muttering repeatedly, "Go up! Go up a little more!"

Others, however, are clinging to wishful thinking, believing that some fools will panic and sell at low prices, fearing they might miss any opportunity to buy at a bargain.

In reality, with such a strong upward trend, no one was willing to sell at a low price. Those investors who were hoping for a lucky break could only watch helplessly as the stock price continued to rise.

"Let's go grab a drink. I reckon these boring numbers will continue for a while," Paulson said to Ernst, glancing at the fluctuating stock prices on the screen.

Although Paulson found these numbers boring, countless small and medium-sized investors in the Nasdaq trading floor were thoroughly enjoying them.

They stared intently at the screen, watching the stock price rise steadily, and excited smiles appeared on their faces.

The ever-rising stock price curve resembled a constantly climbing mountain, making every investor's heart race and adrenaline surge. Regardless of whether they had won a lottery for shares or held any shares of YueDong Games, this kind of wealth growth was exhilarating.

Ernst and Paulson turned around, and almost everyone in the box had already entered celebration mode.

Some people raised champagne glasses and clinked them together in celebration; others danced excitedly, humming cheerful tunes. The entire private room was filled with laughter and lively chatter.

As soon as Ernst and Paulson returned to their seats, someone came over with wine glasses.

Faced with repeated toasts from the crowd, Ernst smiled and responded to each one, downing the champagne in his glass in one gulp.

The chilled champagne slid down my throat, carrying a hint of sweetness, but it did nothing to dampen the lively atmosphere.

"What do you think the first transaction price will be?" In the midst of everyone's celebration, Paulson suddenly brought the topic back to the stock price. He looked at Ernst with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, wanting to know the other's opinion.

Ernst put down his glass, wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, and said calmly, "Who knows what retail investors are thinking? Anyway, the first sell order certainly won't appear here."

Generally, after a company goes public, the shares held by the founders, senior management team, early investors, and institutional investors who bought in during the IPO stage are subject to a lock-up period, usually six months.

During the lock-up period, they cannot sell their shares in order to ensure the stability of the stock price and prevent a large-scale sell-off that could cause the stock price to plummet.

However, Nasdaq's rules also have a flexible and open aspect, namely, through an agreement, it can be stipulated that institutional investors who buy in during the IPO phase have no lock-up period.

It's pretty self-evident who benefits from this regulation.

It is precisely because of this rule that major Wall Street institutions are so actively involved in IPOs, especially large IPO companies, where they exhibit an almost servile fawning attitude.

After all, without the restriction of a lock-up period, institutional investors can sell in time when the stock price rises to their ideal level and make a huge profit, without any risk of a sudden collapse.

Why do newly listed stocks generally see price increases?

The most important reason is the key principle that a minority of investors determine prices.

Because in the early stages of a company's IPO, most of the shares are subject to a lock-up period, and only the shares held by a few retail investors and ordinary employees who have received company stock options are available for trading.

This has created a unique phenomenon: shareholders are reluctant to sell, the number of shares circulating in the market is extremely small, liquidity is very poor, and the supply and demand relationship is severely imbalanced.

In this situation, all those involved in the transaction will tacitly agree to indirectly drive up the stock price through various means.

Although the 20 million shares issued by YueDong Games are not subject to any sales restrictions due to the agreement, meaning that various institutions can sell their shares at any time.

But would they really do that?

The answer is obviously no.

When stock prices soar, institutional investors not only don't sell their shares, but they also follow the price trend and buy back shares from retail investors.

Once all the shares circulating in the market are in the hands of institutions, who will ultimately decide the stock price of YueDong Games?

The answer is obvious: those who hold a large number of shares and can freely buy and sell them have the final say.

This is similar to the housing prices in a residential community. The price level is not determined by the majority of residents, but by the three or five homeowners who want to sell their properties.

If they set the price at 100,000 yuan per square meter and successfully complete the transaction, then the price of the entire neighborhood will be driven up to 100,000 yuan per square meter.

If they are willing to sell at 11,000 yuan per square meter, then the housing prices in the neighborhood will decrease accordingly.

The rule that a few sellers determine housing prices will only be broken when developers see a profit opportunity and decide to build a second phase of the project, resulting in a large number of available homes on the market.

Ernst and the Wall Street investment firms are the developers, but their funds are currently locked up, making it impossible to build the second phase of construction. Everything will be decided by the sellers who are selling the properties.

In YueDong Games' IPO, retail investors accounted for less than 10% of the total shares issued.

Even if we calculate based on 10%, retail investors would only hold 200 million shares.

Assuming the share price rises to $300, it would only take an institution 6...

Amount in US dollars.

$6 million—what is that to Wall Street? It's just a drop in the ocean.

As long as institutions keep driving up the stock price, some small and medium-sized investors will inevitably succumb to the temptation and choose to buy shares of Yuedong. What awaits them is likely to be being trapped.

If individual investors want to make money in the stock market, they must learn to be big fools, not self-proclaimed smart masters.

Especially in the US stock market, retail investors simply cannot compete with these experienced and well-funded financial institutions.

Those fools who rush in without hesitation when they see a stock price rise may actually make money by buying in at the right time.

Those who hesitate and spend all day analyzing candlestick charts as if they were stock market gurus buy in at the peak of the stock price.

Meanwhile, institutional investors had already begun quietly unloading their shares, trapping these savvy retail investors at high prices. They were like lambs to the slaughter, forced to watch helplessly as their funds dwindled.

However, the stock price movement of YueDong Games today was somewhat unusual.

No matter how high the transaction price is, as long as you dare to buy it and can actually get it, there will definitely be room for profit.

As for how the stock price will fluctuate afterward, that's hard to say.

An hour later, the buy offer for YueDong Games continued to rise.

At this point, the price had risen to $68.79, the company's total share capital was 140 million shares, and its total market capitalization reached $96.3 billion, just one step away from a market capitalization of $10 billion.

The investors at the scene became even more excited, discussing and speculating about when YueDong Games' market value would break through 10 billion.

At noon, Ernst and his entourage went to the hotel contracted by YueDong Games Company to attend the celebration banquet as planned.

At this point, the stock price had reached $76.24, and the total market capitalization officially exceeded $10 billion, reaching $106 billion.

Because Nasdaq does not have a midday trading break, the stock market continues to trade during lunchtime. So when Ernst and his party returned to the Nasdaq exchange's lounge after the banquet, the stock market was still trading normally.

As soon as Paulson entered the lounge, he couldn't wait to check the stock price of Leap Games.

When Paulson saw the stock price displayed on the screen, he frowned slightly, his tone clearly indicating dissatisfaction with the price: "It's only just over $91."

Although Paulson was not entirely satisfied with the current purchase price, he was relieved that there was still no trading volume on the trading board.

This means that retail investors who hold shares still have expectations for the stock price of YueDong Games, and that's enough.

Ernst glanced at him and thought to himself, "How greedy."

At this point, YueDong Games' total market value had reached $127 billion, which was three times the amount Goldman Sachs had invested when it participated in the company's financing.

For any investment institution, this would be a very considerable return.

"Ha, what's the rush? We have plenty of time today." Just as Paulson was getting a little annoyed, an old man staggered over, his nose red, clearly having drunk too much at the lunch banquet.

Ernst vaguely remembered the old man; he was the manager of a New York State healthcare retirement fund and also a Goldman Sachs client.

In this IPO of Leap Games, the pension fund received more than 0 shares, which earned them more than ten million US dollars in just half a day.

Paulson ignored the drunken old man, his eyes still fixed on the trading screen.

Although the stock price of YueDong Games continued to rise, and no transactions were completed, the rate of increase was noticeably slower than in the morning.

Clearly, this price has made many small and medium-sized investors hesitate, as they are worried that the stock price may fall back, so they dare not buy in easily.

Those who hold shares will certainly hesitate, but once a transaction is completed, the mystery will be unveiled.

However, in Ernst's view, this is just the beginning. Financial institutions have not yet really exerted their efforts, and they are unlikely to let people unveil this veil at the current price level.

Sure enough, Paulson beckoned, and his secretary immediately walked quickly to his side, respectfully awaiting his instructions.

Paulson glanced at his secretary, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and then said in a deep, powerful voice, "It's our turn to make a move and let this fire burn even brighter."

The secretary nodded, said nothing more, turned and quickly left the lounge, clearly to carry out Paulson's instructions.

Ernst stood aside, watching Paulson's actions without the slightest ripple of emotion.

He knew that a major stock price surge, spearheaded by financial institutions, was about to unfold on the Nasdaq trading floor.

Those small and medium-sized investors who are still hesitant will soon be attracted by this even stronger upward momentum and join this capital frenzy.

However, they may not know what risks and traps are hidden behind this revelry.