The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) announced on Thursday the suspension of trading in shares of the British company Rapid Nutrition, listed in Paris and London, due to suspicions of market manipulation. The suspension is effective from February 19 to March 13, 2026.
The regulator indicates that it has identified several indicators suggesting a "pump and dump" scheme. This technique involves encouraging investors, often via social media or private messaging, to buy a stock presented as highly promising in large quantities in order to artificially inflate its price, before the initiators sell their shares, causing a sharp drop in the price.
A spectacular surge in the stock price
Rapid Nutrition, with a market capitalization of approximately €27 million, has seen its share price rise by over 437% in Paris and over 11,500% in London since the beginning of the year. The AMF (French Financial Markets Authority) is urging investors to be vigilant and is advising those who have been aggressively solicited to keep all communications and information in their possession and to forward them to the authority.
The regulator regularly reminds people of the risks of financial scams, which a majority of French people say they have already encountered, according to a recent study.
