Kodak stock sinks 45% after alleged insider trading halts its pharma pivot
The SEC is reportedly investigating Kodak
Kodak awarded millions of shares to company execs
Kodak shares rampaged by more than 1000% last month after it secured a $765 million government loan to fund its transition into making basic ingredients for drugs.
As you can see on the chart below, the last time Kodak Eastman stock rallied this hard was back in 2018. That was when the company touted an initial coin offering (ICO) fora utility tokenthat would power a blockchain-powered licensing platform.
[Read: Kodak, now a pharma company, expects drugs to make up 30-40% of its future business]
But while the DFC says it signed a “Letter of Interest” in regards to the loan on July 28, word of Kodak’s next move reportedly circulated on the 27th, during which time its share price rose 25%.
From there, Kodak stock surged from under $8 to $33. At its peak, the company’s market value had reached nearly $1.5 billion, despite having struggled to stay above $200 million for the better part of two years.
According toThe Wall Street Journal, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren recently cited this “unusual trading activity” when asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to look into the matter.
The SEC is also said to be investigating stock options awarded to Kodak execs and board members just before news of its pharma pivot broke.
The New York Times foundthose rewards had suddenly balloonedto $50 million in value on July 27—just 48 hours after insiders received them.
Story byDavid Canellis
David is a tech journalist who loves old-school adventure games, techno and the Beastie Boys. He’s currently on the finance beat.David is a tech journalist who loves old-school adventure games, techno and the Beastie Boys. He’s currently on the finance beat.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
