Let's be real for a moment. If a company could just issue a big share dividend to raise the share price, would they not all be doing that?
Bottom line is it is all perception. If the news was that GNBT is doing a forward split, I don't think there would have been all this excitement. The fact that buyers are under the impression that they are getting free money just shows how uneducated most investors are (sorry if I offended anyone). The fact remains that a forward split and a share dividend are "technically" the same thing (with a few accounting entry and cusip differences). The company does not magically create new value, therefore the historical share price and market open buy/sell orders get adjusted. It is all perception and in this case it worked if you look at the rise and volume of the GNBT shares since the dividend announcement. How much actual (perceived or real) value is being created with the "real" GNBT activities will come to light after the open/conference call on Monday.