Something similar happened a while back. I can't remember the stock name but it was pretty clear people were buying/selling it because they thought it was a different non-public company.
Investing this way is more like roulette.
The article mentions that: "In what seems to be a case of mistaken identity, a New York-based startup called SNAP Interactive Inc. jumped more than 150 percent in the days after Snap Inc. filed for a $3 billion initial public offering in February. Little-known SNAP Interactive makes mobile dating apps, while Snap Inc. is the parent of the popular Snapchat photo-sharing app."
Yeah, I forget the name of the company, just remember it was a biotech firm that did the same thing with similar success a few months back.
From TFA:
Shares in Colorado-based Bioptix Inc. nearly doubled in value in the days leading up to its name change to Riot Blockchain Inc. earlier this month.
If only they had changed their name to On-line Blockchain ICO Deep Learning Self-Driving Cloud Plc...
Isn't this what companies were doing back during the dot-com boom?