The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that it suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies on Friday because of “questionable trading and social media activity”. The latest step is the third and largest in a series of temporary trading halts in response to social media activity amid volatile trading in “meme stocks”.

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One of the firms, Blue Sphere Corp — a penny stock — was recently highlighted in a report after its spike in value following a barrage of online posts.

Melissa Hodgman, acting director of the SEC’s enforcement division, has said in a statement that they proactively monitor social media for suspicious trading activities related to stock promotions. Frenzy on social media has increased retail interest in a range of stocks. This has led to volatile trading. The SEC is reviewing the market and trading data, the agency has said.

Some of the suspended stocks are Bebida Beverage Co., Ehouse Global Inc., Eventure Interactive Inc., and Eyes on the Go Inc., apart from Blue Sphere Corp.

The regulators ventured further into targeting penny stocks driven into price and volume frenzies by incessant social media pumping.

About 90 billion shares changed hands daily in February on venues operated by “over-the-counter” markets group, which added up to 1.7 trillion shares in the month, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence shows.

Blue Sphere is one such example that vaulted from obscurity to viral sensation.

Few days ago, SEC suspended trading in SpectraScience, whose shares had surged 633 per cent in 2021. An SEC order noted that while the company hadn’t filed reports in years and its phone number didn’t work, “social media accounts may be engaged in coordinated attempt to artificially influence” its share price.

Similarly, none of the companies suspended on Friday have filed any information with the SEC for over a year. Under the federal securities laws, the SEC can prohibit trading for 10 days and bar a broker-dealer from soliciting investors to buy or sell the stock again until certain reporting requirements are met.