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Scandals- Day Trade Penny stocks

Stock Promoters and the Lies They Tell

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 3/5/2021 16 min read

Make no mistake: Stock promoter lies are a part of the penny stock world. They have to lie to pump their stocks.

I’m not trying to make enemies with the promoters because I’m grateful for the volatility they create. I’m grateful for the predictable setups. But at the same time, I have to educate newbies.

Before I get to the lies stock promoters tell, I want to clear up one common misconception. I don’t personally profit from my trades. I donate all my trading profits to charity. Yes, I want to donate as much as possible to charity, but I trade to teach.

Why is that important? Because it means I’m not conflicted. It means I can give honest, accurate, and useful commentary. I prioritize my students. No trade is make or break for me. That’s who I am and what I do.

But I have to apologize because sometimes I get too negative. I get negative with newbies because I’m trying to wake them up. And I get negative with promoters because they tell lies. Those lies have the potential to destroy.

Stock Promoters Dine On Lies

One way or another, stock promoters profit from their pumps. Some get paid in cash or shares. Others load up before they tweet so they can sell into the spikes they create. That is, if they’re competent enough to spike the stock.

As we saw in September, they got a little lazy or inept. Or both. It got a little better in October. Come on, promoters, work harder!

I’ve divided the stock promoter lies into three parts: lies about me, lies about companies, and lies for suckers.

Why do they lie about me? Promoters hate it when I tweet that a stock is getting pumped. So they lie to their followers as part of the pump. Ingenious, really.

Watch this video and learn…

How I Made $3K in a Day Spotting Penny Stock Promoters

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As you can tell, I want the promoters to do their job. But I also have to expose the lies promoters tell.

Let’s do this…

9 Stock Promoter Lies

Again, the promoters love to tell lies about me. So I need to correct a few misconceptions. When I work hard to educate people about how promoters work, it riles them up. It comes with the territory. But I do it for a reason: it makes them do a better job.

That said, here are three stock promoter lies about yours truly…

Stock Promoter Lie #1: “Sykes Is Shorting It”

A lot of these promoters say that I talk crap about their companies because I’m shorting them. They say I’m deceiving my followers. Most of the time I’m not even trading the stock, let alone short selling. This is an actual quoted tweet…

“Sykes and his crew are 100% shorting this stock out of pure anger.”

It’s sad, right? I don’t short these pumps. I wouldn’t short them unless the promoters spiked them a LOT more, which seems unlikely.

But I do want them to spike as much as possible. Why? Because I like buying breakouts and morning panics. So I want clean breakouts that can run for multiple days/weeks. Then when the stock gets overextended enough, there’s a better chance for a bigger panic.

The crazy thing is that I’ve only shorted twice in the past year. You can see all my trades here.

Why don’t I short? Because it’s a very overcrowded strategy right now. When I was a short seller, there was too much frustration and drama. Students got frustrated and I got frustrated. I’m trying to do less frustration, less drama.

Plus, as I was saying last year and the first part of 2020, short sellers were the new promoters. They were being so overaggressive that it was causing short-squeeze supernovas. It’s still happening, just not quite as much since we have real promoters again.

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Stock Promoter Lie #2: “Sykes Is Pumping It”

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Wrong.

Do I want these stocks to go as high as possible? Yes. But check my alerts. I give entry commentary, including my goal. Then I give exit commentary explaining what happened with my trade. Compare that to the promoters who tweet 50, 75, 100 times a day to pump the stock.

If you want to be transparent like me and these top students, tweet something like…

“Long 100 shares of [insert ticker].” 

That’s a clear indication that you want the price to go up. And it’s all you need to do.

Promoters tweet things like…

“$IDEX This one’s going to the moon…” 

Or…

“170K shares of $NWBO at .60. I will make a million dollars off this stock. Just watch.”

Then they continue to tweet about the stock for days trying to lure in newbies. It’s crazy.

Stock Promoter Lie #3: “Sykes Wants It To Crash So He Can Dip Buy”

Wrong again.

First, I don’t just dip buy anything. For example, I would never dip buy a first green day OTC former runner. That said, I want these stocks to run as many days as possible, as high as possible. That way there’s a better chance of a solid panic dip-buy opportunity.

So, yes, I love to dip buy just like I love to buy breakouts. But they tell their followers to hold and hope because “Sykes is purposely trying to get the stock down…” That’s an outright lie that will hurt their followers.

Enough about me, because those lies are reactionary. They’re defensive lies. But the crux of the stock promoter argument is that the company is a winner.

With that in mind…

Stock Promoter Lies About the Company

One of the most powerful ways the promoters lie is to use what should be strong evidence that the stock will go up.

Unfortunately, too many newbies have no financial education and even less experience. Maybe they watch CNBC and think “If I can find the next big thing, I’m gonna get rich.”

When they start trading they see the promoters’ comments on Twitter and think: “This is it. This is the one.” 

That brings up a common question people ask…

“Tim, how do you know it’s blatant a pump?”

Every day, I use the StocksToTrade Breaking News Chat tool. The Breaking News guys alert the most effective pumps and pumpers.

It doesn’t matter who the pumpers are … and it doesn’t matter what they are. It’s the same kind of strategy. The pumpers get paid to promote the stocks and then the companies do financings.

The management sells at inflated prices or they do a financing at a discount. Then they have millions of dollars to pay inflated salaries as they “work on the vision.” Even though the vision never works.

My point: Use StocksToTrade and get the Breaking News Chat add-on. It’s been a game-changer for me in 2020.

(Quick disclaimer: I helped design and develop StocksToTrade.)

Next lie…

Stock Promoter Lie #4: “This Company Is a Long-Term Investment”

Let me be VERY clear: 99% of penny stock companies fail. Those that don’t fail change names, change tickers, or continuously dilute shareholders. It happens over and over.

So before you think “This is the next Microsoft…” Let me be blunt. It’s not. Does that mean none of these companies will ever make it? No. But the chances of YOU picking the stock that will make it are slim to none.

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None of these companies are good long-term investments. I will never apologize for telling the truth. Go back and look through the thousands of blatantly promoted pumps. They all have charts where the stock spikes and then dies as soon as the promoters stop.

That’s why I trade instead of invest. Use these stocks as a trading vehicle. Take profits along the way. Build your small account. But NEVER believe it when promoters say, “This company is a long-term investment.”

Stock Promoter Lie #5: “The Fundamentals Are Solid”

SO MANY newbies fall for this. So, are the fundamentals solid? To be honest, I don’t care. But if you believe they are, do some real research. Don’t take the promoters’ word for it. If a company is not profitable, is bleeding cash, and is getting promoted or pumped…

The fundamentals don’t matter…

Stock Promoter Lie #6: “It’s World-Changing Tech!”

I’m not saying that the technology is bad or the products are bad. Look, back in the summer I was buying AgEagle Aerial Systems (NASDAQ: UAVS) at under $1 a share. CVS said it was gonna do drone delivery for senior citizens. The stock barely popped.

Then it popped more when the company was supposedly about to announce a deal with Amazon. Instead, a member of management retired. It was a big crash. Could it be world-changing? Possibly. But the odds are bad if you expect these companies to become legit.

The crazy thing is, I love to take trades when there’s breaking news about a new or upcoming product. If it’s spiking the stock. Sometimes I even get a little speculative. But you’ll notice I don’t try to predict what a stock is gonna do. I react.

More importantly (and this is big, so pay attention)…

I NEVER believe the hype. I ride the hype train and get off when the trade either hits my goals or stops doing what I want.

Here’s another funny thing … I often wish the product was a world changer. I’m rooting for innovative new products to help change the world in a positive way.

But I’ve learned over two-plus decades of trading and twelve years of teaching to expect the worst. That way I’m never disappointed.

Stock Promoter Lies for Suckers

Stock Promoter Lie #7: “Only the Weak Sell”

This is complete madness! Only morons don’t sell when they’ve met their goals. That kind of greediness is what blows up accounts. So if your trade plan works, take the profit and move on to the next.

The other time to get out should be obvious. Rule #1 is to cut losses quickly. Never hold and hope. And NEVER let a promoter shame you into holding a stock.

Your job is to stay in the game. Do NOT go down with the ship! All this talk of “We’re in it together. Hold on and this will eventually go back up…” is BS! What the promoters don’t tell you is that they’ve already sold. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is EXACTLY why I teach.

Stock Promoter Lie #8: “This Time Is Different”

And if you believe that, I have a broken Rolex watch I’d like to sell you.

Be cynical. Be very cynical. Read this Men’s Journal article: “Buying High: How to Get Rich On Pot Stocks.” That was in 2014. Stock pumps and promoters weren’t anything new then. Pumps have been happening for YEARS. Stock promoters have been telling their lies for decades.

Sometimes I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Study history, PLEASE! Stop believing these unethical slimeball promoters.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trade the stocks…

Just NEVER believe the BS. EVER. NEVER EVER!

Stock Promoter Lie #9: “Trading Is Easy and Fun and We’re Here to Help”

Trading isn’t easy. Especially at first. And while you’re learning it can be frustrating. The promoters who say it’s easy are the same ones who won’t share every trade with you. They might share their end-of-month profit/loss or a screenshot of a big win.

But they never share the details…

What was their position size? And what was their entry and exit price? What was their thesis and why did they exit their position? They don’t share anything about their trading plans.

They’ll also try to tell you that they teach people for free. They say, “Join my free chat room.”

It’s one of the worst lies used to lure newbies in, which is why…

You Need a Trading Education

People who invest in their trading education take it more seriously. I want you to have the best chance to succeed.

I get it. Some of you reading this might not have much money to invest in your education yet. That’s why I post so many free videos on my YouTube channel. It’s why I write so many blog posts and have a free weekly watchlist. It’s why I created the no-cost “Volatility Survival Guide” earlier this year.

In other words, for those of you not yet ready to invest more in your education, you have options. YOU get to choose your level of commitment.

But DON’T believe the lies promoters tell. They need to lure in more newbies to make their pumps work. They tell you an education doesn’t matter. Then they ask you to pay the steepest possible price for a market education.

That’s why we made the 30-Day Bootcamp investment so low. If you want all the basics plus a whole lot more for less than $80start your 30-Day Bootcamp today.

The 30-Day Bootcamp includes two AMAZING bonuses:

  • The Complete Penny Stock Course.” This is the book that finally took all my knowledge and put it into an easy-to-read, logical, and practical format.
  • The “Pennystocking Framework” DVD. This classic guide outlines the framework seen in thousands of penny stock pumps.

And if you’re truly dedicated, apply for the Trading Challenge today. But come ready to work your butt off.

Again, you choose your level of commitment to your financial future.

What do you think of stock promoters and the lies they tell? Comment below, I love to hear from all my readers!


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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”