What is Taking the Street?
Taking the Street is slang for buying large amounts of stock from institutions so that those sellers have to buy more stock, which drives the price up.
How Does Taking the Street Work?
Let's say John Doe has a Gordon Gekko complex and wants to make some money by manipulating the market for Company XYZ stock. He knows that ABC Fund owns about 5% of the company, so he offers to buy their shares, which they agree to sell. He then calls DEF Fund and does the same thing. Soon, he's bought all the institutions' shares.
The institutions, meanwhile, want to still have a position in Company XYZ, so they go to the open market and buy a bunch of Company XYZ stock. This of course drives up the price of Company XYZ stock, making John Doe a few million bucks. He has taken the Street.
Why Does Taking the Street Matter?
Taking the Street isn't illegal; it's just manipulative, and it takes quite a bit of money to pull off. Regardless, for those who can make money by buying things that other people want, there is an opportunity to create considerable wealth.
