Shares of Tweeter Home Entertainment returned Tuesday under a brand new ticker symbol, and promptly lost the bulk of their value.
On Friday, confusion sparked by Twitter's Thursday IPO filing sent over-the-counter traded shares of the bankrupt retail chain rocketing higher. By the time the financial industry's self-regulatory arm halted trading shares were up nearly 700%.
Tweeter shares had been listed under the symbol TWTRQ -- the Q indicating the company is in bankruptcy -- and on Thursday Twitter indicated it plans to list its shares under TWTR. That confusion was lifted Tuesday, when Tweeter Entertainment resumed trading under the symbol THEGQ.
Some penny stock buyers probably benefited from the confusion, seizing on the huge rally to dump their stakes in the morning hours. Those stuck when the stock was halted dumped their shares Tuesday morning and likely lost most or all of their potential profits.
The stock quickly fell more than 70% to a penny per share, about where it traded before last week's frenzy. Slightly more than a million shares changed hands Tuesday after trading resumed, considerably above the stock's usual activity but a far cry from the incredible 14 million shares traded Friday.
Investors are still waiting to hear whether Twitter will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, but it's a safe bet they won't be changing hands over-the-counter. Don't expect a 700% single-day gain either, though a double may not be impossible given this year's 100% first-day pops from IPOs like Potbelly and Sprouts.