- One Reddit user said they lost their life savings after Luckin Coffee's plummeting shares erased €224,000 (about $252,000) from their portfolio.
- The WallStreetBets subreddit member on Wednesday posted a screenshot of their 95% loss, adding, "Now I'm broke af."
- Luckin's shares nosedived 80% on April 2 after announcing that employees including its chief operating officer falsified 2.2 billion yuan (about $310 million) in sales throughout 2019.
- Shares fell further through May after a months-long trading halt was lifted and the Nasdaq exchange issued a delisting warning.
- "I didn't know they could cheat on balance sheet ... and that a company can just fail in 3 months," the Reddit trader wrote.
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The lawless members of the Reddit forum WallStreetBets are at it again, celebrating a member's €224,000 ($252,000) loss on Luckin Coffee shares.
A Reddit user with a somewhat vulgar screen name shared a screenshot on Wednesday of a 95% loss on the Chinese coffee chain's stock. The user, who described themselves as a 28-year-old European fitness coach, said they were intrigued by Luckin's 300% gain from November to January. After they piled more than €235,000 ($264,000) into the company's shares, disaster struck.
Few high-profile stocks could've driven as much interest and subsequently minted such incredible losses. Luckin's shares nosedived 80% on April 2 after an internal investigation found that the company's chief operating officer fabricated sales totaling 2.2 billion yuan ($310 million) throughout 2019. The coffee chain told investors that past guidance and earnings releases were no longer reliable.
The situation worsened days later when trading of Luckin stock was halted on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock sat at $4.39 for more than a month. The company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq on May 19, and when trading resumed the following day, shares cratered as much as 45%.
The company said in a May 19 filing that it aimed to request a hearing with an exchange panel and would remain listed pending the hearing's outcome. Nasdaq staff cited "public interest concerns" for its delisting notice, adding that the falsified sales and past failure to disclose critical information created dangerous risks for investors.
"I didn't know they could cheat on balance sheet ... and that a company can just fail in 3 months," the Reddit trader wrote, adding the losses amounted to "all my life savings."
"Now I'm broke af," they said.
Still, the Reddit trader remained optimistic. They said in a comment that between their two businesses, losses should be recovered in a few years. The user also said that after learning their lesson "the hard way," they planned to solely invest in exchange-traded funds, gold, and bonds for the foreseeable future.
"I do really believe everything in life happens for a reason," they wrote. "Is a painful lesson but I learned it the hard way and it will help me through my whole life."
Luckin Coffee closed at $2.58 per share on Wednesday, down 93% year-to-date.
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