Do investors post messages differently from mobile devices? The correlation between mobile Internet messages posting and stock returns

Abstract

Mobile Internet has become a popular channel for investors to share their information and ideas about investment. This paper investigates the relation between frequency of mobile Internet messages and subsequent stock returns. We find that firms with higher proportion of mobile Internet messages on average earn a significant return premium even after controlling for well-known risk factors. Moreover, the marginal effect of mobile Internet messages is more pronounced among stocks in weaker information environments (i.e., higher fraction of individual ownership and lower analysts following). Further results suggest this correlation is more likely to be driven by “noise” rather than “information.” We also provide evidence that the lack of liquidity can explain the persistence of the correlation between mobile Internet messages and stock returns. Our findings highlight the importance for financial market participants to consider the peer-based opinions from mobile Internet.