NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Poor Man -]

I know it’s a NWBO centric world, but it’s important for shareholders to read the Bloomberg article to understand how broad the investigation with yet no findings. There’s obviously abuses in the markets, as there’s always been. So I’m sure the SEC will find something if they try hard enough. But the reason why the stock price is 59 cents per share has very little to do with short selling other than an attempt to make this a convenient excuse.

Meanwhile, companies criticized by short sellers have become increasingly bold in firing back, sometimes launching legal battles even as they face government probes that ultimately support short sellers’ theses. A number of corporate executives have been hoping U.S. authorities might help to further shift the focus to investors’ tactics.

Still, successfully bringing charges against short sellers could be challenging, given that betting against companies and publishing research believed to be accurate is lawful and even beneficial for markets. So far, nobody has been accused of wrongdoing, and authorities may ultimately decide not to pursue charges.

Government attorneys are trying to determine whether short sellers engaged in some form of deception -- say, by misleading the public about their financing of what appears to be independent research, violating confidentiality agreements with authors, or orchestrating stock plunges to panic shareholders and exacerbate selling.

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and Muddy Waters declined to comment, and there was no response to messages sent to Anson Funds and Aurelius.

An attorney for Citron said he’s aware of an industry probe but that it’s routine for U.S. investigators to open and close cases. He expressed doubt that their theories would be borne out.

“Citron Capital and Mr. Left are successful because they do quality research and keep their reports secret from other short sellers until publication,” said the lawyer, James Spertus. “There is simply no truth behind any theory that short sellers coordinate amongst themselves before publishing reports, at least in regard to publications by Citron Capital and Andrew Left. I am hopeful that anyone investigating the issue will reach that conclusion as soon as possible.”