Market Manipulation

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As we have detailed in prior posts (most recently here), one of the key securities class action litigation filing trends this year has been the emergence of a host of securities suits alleging various types of market manipulation, including, in particular pump-and-dump schemes. In the latest example of this trend, on September 10, 2026, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities lawsuit against the Singapore-based Ryde Group (RYDE) in a complaint alleging that the defendants engaged in a pump and dump scheme. This new lawsuit is the 15th market manipulation complaint to be filed so far this year.

Continue Reading New Market Manipulation-Related Securities Suit Filed Against Ryde Group

Over the past year, market-manipulation lawsuits have become a growing feature of the securities litigation landscape, with plaintiffs targeting alleged spoofing, short-selling, pump-and-dump schemes, and other trading-related misconduct. The latest such case, filed on July 31, 2026, in the Middle District of Florida, names hedge fund Pentwater Capital Management and its founder, Matthew Halbower, as defendants (Pentwater SCA). The complaint alleges that they manipulated the market for Avis Budget Group (Avis) shares by orchestrating a short squeeze and then selling into the resulting price spike.

Unlike pump-and-dump securities suits premised on allegedly false or misleading statements, the Pentwater SCA is based on the defendants’ trading activity itself. The lawsuit arguably represents an example of a growing trend in market-manipulation-related securities class action litigation while underscoring an increasingly important issue for D&O underwriters: securities litigation risk arising not from disclosure deficiencies, but from market-structure and trading-related factors capable of driving extreme stock-price volatility.

A copy of the Pentwater SCA can be found here.

Continue Reading Short Squeeze Lawsuit Filed Against Pentwater Capital

The wave of securities class actions alleging market manipulation involving recently public, low-float companies continues to grow. Notably, many of these lawsuits have involved non-U.S. companies that recently completed IPOs on U.S. exchanges. Two new pump-and-dump lawsuits, filed within a day of one another in the Southern District of New York against China-based iTonic Holdings Ltd. and Park Ha Biological Technology Co., Ltd., increase the number of market manipulation cases filed in 2026 to 13.

Continue Reading Pump-and-Dump Securities Suit Filing Trend Continues to Build

D&O Diary readers are aware of a growing trend over the past year: an increasing number of securities class actions arising from alleged market manipulation involving low-float public companies. These cases, ranging from pump-and-dump and spoofing schemes to stock promotion claims, now also include a lawsuit filed this week against Megan Holdings Limited (Megan), whose share price allegedly surged more than 400% in one month before plunging over 93% in a single trading day. The company, headquartered in Malaysia, develops, constructs, and maintains aquaculture farms and related infrastructure. 

Continue Reading Pump-and-Dump Securities Suit Adds to Growing Market Manipulation Litigation Trend