SMX (Security Matters) Stock Is Trending: What's Going On?

Benzinga · 1d ago

Shares of SMX (Security Matters) PLC (NASDAQ:SMX) are crashing Monday, trading down roughly 50%, sharply reversing a massive momentum run that saw the stock explode over 1,000% in recent weeks. Here’s what investors need to know.

What To Know: The sell-off follows several press releases by the company featuring headlines like “The Supply Chain Cold War,” “The Refinery Reset” and “Material Authenticity Rebuilt,” which highlighted partnerships and initiatives in the gold and rare earth sectors.

The extreme volatility is rooted in the company’s 1-for-8 reverse stock split, which became effective on Nov. 18. This corporate action was the primary catalyst for the stock’s chaotic behavior. By consolidating shares at an 8:1 ratio, SMX drastically reduced its float, the number of shares available for public trading.

In financial market structure, a low float creates a liquidity vacuum. With significantly fewer shares in circulation, even modest buying pressure can trigger violent upside moves, a phenomenon known as a low float squeeze.

However, this sword cuts both ways. The same lack of liquidity that allowed the stock to soar on light volume is now exacerbating the sell-off. As momentum fades, the thin order book cannot absorb profit-taking, causing the price to collapse as rapidly as it rose, commonly seen during post-split volatility.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: Benzinga Edge technical indicators show a mixed outlook, rating the stock’s price trend as positive for the Short and Medium term, but notably negative for the long term.

SMX Price Action: SMX shares were down 47.34% at $174.83 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

From a technical perspective, SMX is trading approximately 184.8% above its 50-day moving average, suggesting that the recent price action has deviated sharply from its short-term trend.

However, it is also trading 91.4% below its 200-day moving average, highlighting a longer-term downtrend that investors should be cautious of. This disparity between the moving averages indicates a potential lack of sustained momentum in the stock’s recovery.

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