Nasdaq reported the same four-letter code three times after halting Robinhood trading this morning: LUDP.
The code stands for “Volatility Trading Pause,” and means that the stock, in this case HOOD, cannot be traded due to a serious rise (or fall) in price.
In Robinhood’s case, the reason was because of two massive surges right after the Nasdaq opened today. At 9:30 am EST, HOOD shot up from $54.45 to $65.60, before the first halt kicked in. After a ten-minute pause, the stock took flight again rising to $78, halting trading again.
Over the past five days, HOOD has risen more than 109.45%. It is currently trading at $62.98.
$HOOD pic.twitter.com/cAzKBFppUb
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) August 4, 2021
Today’s bullish price action is in stark contrast to its market debut on July 29.
After just 15 minutes of trading, HOOD had already fallen by 9%—an admittedly bleak start to what has been a breakout year for the trading app.
Robinhood corrals meme coins, stocks
Facing COVID-induced lockdown and armed with stimulus checks a-plenty, bored retail investors turned to Robinhood throughout this and last year. It quickly became the primary weapon for hordes of Redditors as they propped up meme stocks in GameStop, AMC Theatres, and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., among others.
Robinhood also offers an array of cryptocurrencies for similar speculative activity, including brand names Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.
The betting mania reached a pitch in January after Robinhood halted trading on many of these stocks and cryptocurrencies. A spokesperson for the company told CNBC that, “due to extraordinary market conditions, we’ve temporarily turned off instant buying power for crypto.”
It now looks like Nasdaq has gone and done the same.