dognovel Chapter 359 Starry Sky Releases Annual Report
Chapter 359 Starry Sky Releases Annual Report
9:50.
The phone rang again; it was Sofia calling.
"Mr. Ling, we've discovered something: someone is trying to compete with us for the shares."
Ling Yun paused for a moment. "What's the price now?"
"Between 27.5 and 28. There are many small orders, scattered across more than a dozen accounts, but the total amount is not small. I had someone keep an eye on it, and since the market opened this morning, more than two million shares have been bought up."
Ling Yun thought for a moment, "Whose people?"
"I don't know. The accounts are all new; we can't find any background information."
"We will continue to accumulate shares. We are not afraid of raising the price. There are people who need shares more urgently than us. The higher the price goes, the more anxious they will be."
I hung up the phone.
Ling Yun sat in the chair, looking out the window.
Buying spree? This price is more than a dollar higher than yesterday's closing price.
Who's buying? Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley probably realized they're afraid of a short squeeze and are accumulating shares to prepare for liquidation. With so many short positions, even buying all the outstanding shares wouldn't be enough to cover the short positions.
Fiona stood there and waited a few seconds.
"Mr. Ling, what's the next step?"
Ling Yun looked at her. "Is the annual report ready?"
Fiona said seriously, "It's all ready. We've checked it three times. There won't be any problems."
"Hmm, what time are you planning to release the announcement?"
"Three o'clock in the afternoon."
"Let's change it to 11 o'clock."
Fiona paused for a moment, "Eleven o'clock?"
"Okay, Mr. Ling, I'll inform them right away." Fiona turned and left.
At 10:00 AM, the stock price was $30.20.
At 10:30 AM, the stock price was $32.80.
At 11:00 AM sharp, Star Technology released its annual report on its official website.
Title: "Star Technology 1999 Annual Report: First Quarterly Profit Achieved, New Machine Installations Surpass Microsoft's"
Fiona stood in Lingyun's office, looking at the news page on her computer.
The first point has been released: "StarCraft Technology's annual report: Net profit of US$1.2 million in the fourth quarter of last year, turning a profit for the whole year. New machine installations accounted for 47% of the global PC market, exceeding Microsoft's 42%."
The comments below refresh very quickly.
"Holy crap, really?"
"47%? That surpasses Microsoft?"
"So Microsoft sued them for patent infringement, but those companies ended up doing better than them?"
"The stock price is about to take off."
"I want to die now because of the stocks I sold before."
"Hurry up and buy it before it takes off."
At 11:15 AM, the stock price was $35.6.
At 11:30 AM, the stock price was $38.20.
At 12:00, the stock price was $40.1.
Meanwhile, Anderson, in New York, was staring at the screen, motionless.
The trader next to me was on the phone, his voice trembling.
"Sell orders are snapped up as soon as they're placed... Yes, they just can't be driven down... Short positions? Short positions haven't been closed yet..."
Winston pushed open the door, his face ashen. "Did you see it?"
Anderson did not answer.
Winston walked over, stood next to him, and also stared at the screen; Star's stock price had reached 40.5.
"That pop-up window was something they planted beforehand."
Anderson nodded. "Our stock..."
"I know."
Winston paused for a few seconds, then said, "Those short positions must be closed today, or we'll likely be liquidated tomorrow."
Anderson remained motionless, while Winston watched him.
"Anderson?"
Anderson slowly stood up. "How many shares did we borrow to short sell?"
Winston paused for a moment, then said, "Two hundred million shares."
At the current share price of $40, that's eight billion US dollars.
They sold at an average price of $35. If they close their positions now, they'll lose $5 per share, totaling a loss of one billion. But the question is, can they buy them back?
Whose money is being used to pay for those things outside?
If it's Lingyun's...
Anderson dared not think any further.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Get me Jim Olson."
The call connected. "Jim."
"Anderson? How's it going on your end?"
"Did you see that pop-up? What's going on? Xingchen's stock price is already over 40."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then a reply came through.
Why does your version include star-related code?
"We don't know either, the technical team is investigating. Anderson, now is not the time to pursue this. You need to get your shares back, otherwise we will lose control. We just dismissed Ling Yun, and if he comes back, we will have no chance at all."
"I know, but it will be very difficult to get the shares back."
"What do you mean?"
"Some people are buying up stocks. No matter how much we dump, they'll buy it all. And now many retail investors are following the trend and buying in. Those who already own stocks are reluctant to sell. If no one is selling, they're waiting for a short squeeze."
There was silence on the other end of the phone again. "Who's going on a shopping spree?"
"Lingyun".
Jim Olson's voice changed. "Where did he get so much money?"
"have no idea."
"Doesn't Goldman Sachs have access to the trading back-end system? Couldn't you see it?"
Anderson did not answer.
"Anderson, listen to this. Microsoft has placed a huge bet on this. If they can't take down StarCraft, then..."
"It's too late."
"What's too late?"
"The stocks we borrowed must be liquidated today, no matter how much we lose. Even if we lose control, we can recover our losses if the stock price goes up."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. "How much short position?"
"Two hundred million shares."
Jim Olson remained silent. 10% of the shares represented half of the outstanding shares. These people in finance are truly ruthless. Microsoft promised them so many benefits, but that couldn't stop them from taking the risk.
Anderson hung up the phone, turned to Winston, and said, "Notify the trading room to begin closing out the positions."
Winston paused, then asked, "Now? At this price?"
"If we wait any longer, the stock price will go even higher."
Winston was getting anxious. "We've lost so much money, the board will deal with us."
Anderson stood by the window, looking at the rain outside. "Do you have any other good ideas?"
Fine, dense raindrops pattered against the glass and streamed down in streaks.
At 1 p.m., Star Technology's stock price was $42.7.
At 2 PM, the stock price was $45.3.
At 3 PM, the closing price was $48.20.
It rose by $21.9 from yesterday, an increase of 83%.
Anderson sat in his office, staring at the screen. Traders were giving reports beside him.
"1.2 million shares were sold at cost. Average price: $42.5. Loss..."
He paused for a moment, then said, "A loss of $9 million."
Anderson didn't say anything.
"There are still 80 million shares left, but we simply can't buy them all. Orders are snapped up as soon as they're placed; we can't compete at all."
Anderson nodded.
Winston walked in and stood beside him. "There are still 80 million shares left; we need to continue liquidating them tomorrow. And what about the Goldman Sachs board..."
"I'll go tell them."
Winston looked at him. "Are you alright?"
Anderson didn't answer; he stared blankly out the window.