The subject of the study is the processes of manipulation of stock asset prices on the example of shares of American high-tech companies of the NASDAQ exchange. The concept of manipulation of stock assets is formulated and the signs of manipulation of them are presented. The main purpose of the work is to identify signs of manipulation of the stock prices of Facebook, Nasdaq and Google companies from the moment of the initial public offering of the company's shares on the stock exchange (IPO) to the present. The methodology of the study includes statistical methods of data analysis: comparative analysis, correlation and regression analysis. Based on the annual quotes and financial reports of Facebook, Google and Nasdaq, a comparative and correlation analysis of the annual values of investment multipliers is carried out. Particular attention is paid to the comparative and statistical analysis of the data of these companies at the initial time stage after their IPO on the NASDAQ exchange. The result of the analysis showed a fairly strong correlation between them on this indicator. At the same time, a significant overvaluation of Facebook shares was established in the first years after its initial public offering on the stock exchange, in relation to the analog companies of Google and Nasdaq, as well as to the companies listed on the S&P500 stock market of the USA. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the presented methodology allows identifying signs of manipulation with the share prices of companies-analogues of any sufficiently liquid stock market. The topic of the article is of interest to stock market participants, stock analysts, potential investors and purchasers of companies, as well as to stock market regulators dealing with the reliability and security of its processes.

The article substantiates the need to improve the system of indicators that meet the requirements of market participants and potential investors in obtaining reliable and comprehensive statistical information on the state and development prospects of the Russian stock market (SM).The analysis of the current state of statistical monitoring of the Russian SM in terms of the misuse of insider information and manipulation of the financial market is carried out, statistical indicators for assessing stock assets and market indices are considered, and the main indicators of volatility and investment indicators related to the financial and economic characteristics of issuing companies are analyzed. According to the author, it is necessary to improve the quality of information on the value of stock assets and stock indices. To accomplish this task, it is proposed to use indicators that can adequately assess the current and forecast value of issuing companies and the degree of manipulation of their market quotations.The author proposes a method of calculating the investment indicator by dividing the price of the stock by its moving average profit for the previous time period equal to the economic cycle. Based on the factual material of the US and Russian stock markets, statistics of the values of this investment indicator, it is shown that it is possible to assess the adequate current and forecast value of stock assets, as well as the degree of their manipulation.The calculated investment indicator shows the adequacy of the market value of companies to their fundamental financial and economic characteristics. The volatility of this indicator for a short period of time is a signal of a possible manipulation with the prices of this stock asset. Therefore, this investment indicator can become an important supplement to the existing system of statistical indicators on the state and development of the Russian SM.

Subject. The article considers topical issues related to the formation and development trends of hedge funds and their impact on the stock market, based on extensive historical factual material. Objectives. The aim is to investigate the formation and evolution of hedge funds and their effect on financial and stock markets. Methods. The study rests on comparative analysis, the method of analogies, and statistical processing of actual and historical data on hedge funds and stock markets. Results. The analysis of data on the dynamics of capitalization of the world stock market and the world Gross Domestic Product confirmed the outstripping growth of financial and stock markets in relation to the real economy. The paper shows that assets managed by hedge funds have increased more than thirty times since 1998. The data on losses of hedge funds during the 2008 global crisis demonstrated that hedge funds failed to fully fulfill their task for which they were created, i.e. risk hedging. Conclusions. The main problems and contradictions of the activities of hedge funds are that they, having significant financial resources and advanced investment technologies for profit-making, can both stabilize and destabilize international financial and stock markets. The internal contradiction of hedge funds is that hedging risks requires the use of conservative investment strategies, and profit maximization necessitates investing in risk-taking stock assets.