Apple share prices appear to more than double due to reporting glitch
A problem traced back to Nasdaq test data caused the reported share prices of Apple, Google, Microsoft and a handful of other technology sector stocks to fluctuate wildly on multiple financial websites after trading ended on Monday.
According to Reuters, stock price queries for Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, eBay and others returned the same $123.47 result, which in some cases amounted to a more than 80 percent loss in value. For companies like Apple, shares appeared to have more than doubled.
The inaccurate market data, impacting a small number Nasdaq stocks, went live on websites and trading platforms including Yahoo Finance, Google Finance and Bloomberg Terminal at around 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Nasdaq confirmed the wide price variance was made in error, and noted actual stock prices were not affected by the glitch. Further, no trades were accomplished at the erroneous prices. The exchange is currently investigating the issue.
While details have yet to be made public, share price discrepancies for about 16 companies can be traced back to Nasdaq’s unlisted trading privileges (UTP) service, which sent out test data earlier today. That information was wrongly sent live on Bloomberg, a Nasdaq spokesman told Business Insider.
“As part of its normal process, the UTP distributed normal test data, and certain third parties improperly consumed and propagated that data. Nasdaq is working with UTP and third parties to resolve the matter,” the Nasdaq spokesman said.
As noted by Reuters, Nasdaq and other U.S. stock exchanges closed early today ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday. Whether the mistake is related to the day’s early closure is unknown.
Actual stock prices have since replaced the incorrect figures.