From Parle Industries To Signal: Mistaken Identity Trades That Sparked Sharp Market Rallies

Shares of Parle Industries hit the upper circuit on May 20 after retail investors rushed into the stock following a viral video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting Melody toffees to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his visit to Rome.

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The rally came despite Parle Industries having no business connection with Melody candies or Parle Products, the privately held maker of brands such as Parle-G, Melody and Monaco. The episode added another example to a growing list of mistaken-identity trades that have triggered sharp movements in unrelated stocks over recent years.

Parle Industries Gains On Viral ‘Melody’ Moment

The buying interest emerged after a widely circulated video showed Meloni referring to the toffees gifted by Modi as “very, very good.” Modi responded by saying “Melody,” reviving the popular social media trend associated with the two leaders.

The online frenzy quickly spilled into the stock market, with investors piling into Parle Industries shares despite the company operating in sectors such as infrastructure, real estate and paper waste recycling.

Parle Industries was originally incorporated in 1983 as Express Bottlers Services Pvt Ltd and later renamed Parle Software Ltd. Though it was once associated with the Parle-Bisleri group, the company currently functions independently.

Bombay Oxygen Rally During Covid Wave

One of the most prominent mistaken-identity rallies occurred during India’s second Covid-19 wave in April 2021, when oxygen shortages led investors to seek stocks linked to the sector.

Bombay Oxygen Investments Ltd became an unexpected beneficiary even though the company had exited oxygen manufacturing operations in 2019 and operated mainly as a non-banking financial company.

The stock climbed from ₹11,025 on March 31, 2021 to an intraday high of ₹25,500 on April 20, 2021, marking a gain of more than 131% within less than three weeks. Compared with its February 2021 levels, the stock had risen nearly 156%.

The sharp rally later prompted the BSE to seek clarification from the company regarding the unusual movement in its share price.

Elon Musk Tweet Triggers Signal Advance Surge

Another widely discussed incident took place in January 2021 after Tesla chief Elon Musk posted “Use Signal” on social media, referring to the encrypted messaging application Signal.

Investors mistakenly bought shares of U.S.-listed Signal Advance Inc., a separate company unrelated to the messaging platform. According to Bloomberg, the stock surged more than 5,100% within three trading sessions.

The company’s market capitalisation reportedly jumped from nearly $7 million to around $390 million during the rally.

Zoom And LG Confusion

The work-from-home boom during the pandemic also led investors to confuse Zoom Video Communications with Zoom Technologies Inc., an unrelated company with a similar ticker symbol. The repeated confusion eventually led Zoom Technologies to change its ticker from ZOOM to ZTNO.

India witnessed another such incident in October 2025 during the listing of LG Electronics India. The similarly-named company LG Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd. saw a huge jump in trades for the day on investor enthusiasm. Intraday prices spiked as much as 15%.

Such incidents highlight that sometimes trends on social media, events going viral, and headline news-driven investment decisions can see an impact on prices of companies bearing similar names/tickers.