Q: Yesterday a FDA official gave very negative opinions and comments on Aurinia pharmaceuticals then removed them at end of trading day. Volume went up to almost 8million shares and stock was crushed. This stinks to high heaven. What do you folks think of this and will there be law suits maybe officials checking into short covering etc. Also how long will the cloud remain over this stock it was just taking off when all this happened.
5i Research Answer:
It is a bit stinky and the retraction speaks volumes. The short interest is 8%. While the SEC could investigate, we would not necessarily count on it. It may be just an official 'mouthing off' and they might leave it to the FDA to deal with. The company has defended its position and the stock is still up nicely on the year. But the sentiment of this will likely stick around for a couple of months.