Regencell's 82,000% Surge: The $33 Billion Stock Rally That Nobody Can Explain
When Regencell Bioscience (NASDAQ:RGC) surged 82,000%, it wasn't on the back of a blockbuster drug or FDA approval. It was something far stranger. A small, loss-making traditional Chinese medicine firm with a vacant chief medical officer post and no revenue catalyst suddenly became a $33 billion paper giantat least for a few days. At the peak, founder and CEO Yat-Gai Au's stake eclipsed the wealth of Hong Kong's richest tycoons. He wasn't at the office. No press conference. No update. Then came the crash. As of June 26, the stock has fallen 74%, dragging Au's fortune down to $8.6 billion.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Signs with RGC.
The company's fundamentals don't justify its viral rise. Regencell markets herbal formulas for ADHD and autism, developed by Au's father, under the trademark Brain Theory. It posted net losses of $4.4 million in fiscal 2024 and $6.1 million in 2023. Yet it managed to outshine every major healthcare brand on Instagramthanks in part to Taylor Swift ticket giveaways. Its second-largest shareholder? A firm tied to Zoom early investor Samuel Chen. Chen, along with his family, also controls Taiwan's Polaris Group and holds a major stake in IC firm Sonix Technology. None of them are talking. And neither is Regencell.
Now regulators might start asking the questions retail investors already are. With no news, no insider filings, and no scientific breakthroughs, the stock's behavior has triggered interest from market observers. Both the SEC and Finra have automated tools for flagging anomalies like this, and experts say it's exactly the kind of movement that draws scrutiny. On June 4, the SEC even floated a proposal to tighten rules on foreign private issuerscompanies like Regencell that operate overseas but trade in the U.S. Whether the rally was driven by low float dynamics, social media virality, or something more problematic remains to be seen. But one thing's certain: for investors, this was a $33 billion lesson in how fast the music can stop.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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