It is a pump in the sense that none of the fundamentals of the company have changed between December and now, the main event has been people buying stock with the express purpose of enabling a short squeeze. Legally, there could be an argument for it being market manipulation.
Exactly. CNBC is the biggest market manipulator with a huge mouthpiece. Anytime Cramer mentions a stock in favorable terms it goes up, at least short term. Meanwhile we know that he is friends with hedge funds and at least part of time is probably taking positions before going on TV.
We give that a free pass but suddenly a loosely-organized internet forum is a problem.
1. If Cramer said "Hey, let's all buy this stock because there is a potential short squeeze.", then that would be illegal because it's attempting to create an artificial market pump through short squeezing.
2. Cramer is LICENSED to give investment advice. A licensed doctor can go on TV and make medical recommendations. Reddit specifically bans subs that try to do that.
