(Yicai) July 7 -- The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has suspended several investors from trading for allegedly using social media to artificially inflate the share price of Chinese vocational training firm Offcn Education, whose stock has gained nearly 30 percent in value over the past week.

The bourse is closely monitoring the trading activity of Offcn Education’s stock and has imposed a trading suspension on the investors whose actions led to abnormal trading behaviors that disrupted the normal order of the market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said in a statement released late yesterday. The exchange also urged investors to be mindful of investment risks and trade prudently.

The move followed a social media post by an investor claiming that if Offcn Education's share price failed to rise 20-fold within a year, the investor would carry out an inappropriate act. This was quickly reposted by other investors, sending the sensational wager viral and attracting widespread attention.

Following the posts, Offcn Education's share price, which had been languishing for months, experienced a surge, hitting the daily trading limit on two of the following four trading days.

Some investors said the social media stunt may have been intended to fuel speculative buying and allow shareholders to sell shares at inflated prices.

Offcn Education issued a risk warning last night, saying its business operations remain normal and that there have been no material changes to its operating environment and that none are expected. There are no undisclosed matters that should have been reported to investors, it added.

Offcn Education’s profit plunged 73 percent last year from the year before to CNY48.9 million (USD7.2 million), while revenue tumbled 15 percent to CNY2.2 billion (USD312 million), according to the Beijing-based company’s 2025 financial results.

Offcn Education’s share price [SHE: 002607] closed up 8.1 percent today at CNY2.26 (USD0.33) per share.

Editor: Kim Taylor