From late Feb until early April, the bots were active and a...

From late Feb until early April, the bots were active and a number of us commented on market manipulation to drive down the SP and someone clearly accumulating. The bots seemed to be most active and SP dropped to its lowest level in the first week of April.

From about the 2nd week in April, the SP recovered to near where it had been. Then the Quarterly Report contained nothing of note, but the SP continued to rise for a week, then fell back marginally for a couple of weeks, until the trading halt and KBR announcement. Then quite big volume for a few days, but way less spike than I would have expected for the impact of that announcement and the significant de-risking that the KBR deal brings.

Hard not to surmise that someone knew an announcement was coming, but not when. They drove the price down, bought as much as they could without impacting the SP. Activity before the Quarterly suggests they were concerned that may be the vehicle for the announcement. That suggests the were acting on a whisper, but not close to the inner circle. They then sold off into the announcement, holding down the SP.

Lots of coverage of the announcement in specialist news sites. Likely lots of new eyes on Hazer, but such a small movement in SP will make them cautious. Another big announcement may well break the dam wall.