Fore those not familiar with AIM and manipulation3 Sep 2022 16:27
What are some indicators that a stock is heavily manipulated by the market maker rather than real demand?
I don't know about the long-term indicators, but on the intraday timeframe, it's quite easy to see price manipulation by watching the order book.
As an example, you might see an enormous block of shares suddenly appear on the ask side of the book during an uptrend. The trend will, more often than not, end rather suddenly as the upside in price now appears quite limited. The price falls.
Then, once the share price has fallen considerably, the giant order on the ask side will be canceled, and a new order, similar in size, will spontaneously appear on the bid. With a price floor now established by the giant bid, the shares begin to appreciate again. And now, there's nothing to stop them from climbing higher.
You can bet that whoever is sending in those bogus orders is profiting from the swing they've caused.
I just thought it was an interesting read has to what can go on in the background when trading on AIM.