Facebook may have unveiled its new identity at a glitzy event on Thursday, but shares of a lesser-known Canadian industrial materials company surged in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

As Facebook metamorphosed into Meta, shares of Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Meta Materials Inc jumped 26% in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

The stock was up 5% at $4.79 in premarket trading on Friday, with nearly 1 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, Facebook shares were slightly higher.

Meta Materials' stock has already been a favorite among retail investors using Reddit and social media, recording sharp moves and wild swings in recent months. It had hit an all-time high of nearly $22 in June.

The company, which specializes in designing materials used in a variety of industries like consumer electronics and aerospace, has a market value of $1.3 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Stock markets have witnessed many instances of share prices reacting due to mistaken identities - like a jump in Zoom Technologies at the height of the pandemic, when the world flocked to the video conferencing platform of the same name.

But it was unclear whether it was just the similarity in names or a coordinated push by "meme-stock" investors - or both - driving Meta Materials' shares higher.

"Is the (after-hours) price action real, or are people buying MMAT thinking they are getting Facebook for really cheap?" asked one user on a Reddit community dedicated to discussing Meta Materials' stock, that was created this March.

Meta Materials could not immediately be reached for comment on the stock move outside regular business hours.

George Palikaras, the chief executive of Meta Materials, appeared to get in on the fun, tweeting on Thursday: "On behalf of @Metamaterialtec I would like to cordially welcome @Facebook to the #metaverse."

  - Reuters