Argent Capital Stock Rises Fivefold; Company Puzzled

Shares of Argent Capital Corp. have moved up more than fivefold in a week, but the financial services company said Thursday it could not explain the surge.

The stock, which trades in the low-profile over-the-counter market, surged to $6.88 a share on Tuesday from $1.19 the previous Tuesday. The shares closed Thursday at $6.13, up 13 cents. Volume was much heavier than normal, hitting a high of 104,500 shares Tuesday, about 10 times above the daily average over the last three months.

Argent has not made any announcements that would cause this kind of rise, company spokesman Paul Knopick said.

On the Internet, the stock has generated many comments from investors. “Everything appears to indicate expansion,” noted one observer, who predicted the stock will move much higher.

The Huntington Beach-based company also said it is taking legal action to rescind its acquisition last fall of Clearview Capital Corp., a mortgage banking company. Argent said it discovered Clearview was “rife with accounting problems.”

Argent said it is negotiating to acquire two financial service companies, including one in the Internet business, but did not identify them.