We are investigating OPKO Health, Inc. (OPK) (“Opko” or the “Company”) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.
On March 5, 2020, Opko’s subsidiary Bioreference Laboratories issued a press release stating “that it will offer a test for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)” and “is expecting to receive specimens for testing, and begin to provide testing next week. With an extensive network of patient service centers and a national logistic network, BioReference will provide expanded access to a COVID-19 testing across the United States.” Then, on March 9, 2020, Hindenburg Research stated via Twitter that Opko was “an obvious coronavirus pump,” characterizing the Company’s March 5 press release as “nonsense” and noting that the Company’s Chief Executive Officer Phillip Frost “has been accused by the SEC of engaging in pump and dump schemes in the past.” On this news, OPKO’s stock price fell sharply, damaging investors.