6 ms·

God damn, there is no way this is anything other than just brazenly obvious insider trading. Completely unethical. Our representatives are complete and utter sc

God damn, there is no way this is anything other than just brazenly obvious insider trading. Completely unethical. Our representatives are complete and utter scumbags. Needless to say, this should be illegal. I honestly wish we could retroactively imprison them for doing this. The current state of the U.S. is so damn embarrassing and shameful. I literally cringe when I imagine internationals seeing what we do here.

missedthecue 7y ago
>God damn, there is no way this is anything other than just brazenly obvious insider trading. How do you figure?
- three_seagrass 7y ago
  A U.S. senator buys random pharma stock the day before it announces their renal drug passed a trial, and then sold immediately after announcing.
  - totalZero 7y ago
    So he traded the catalyst.
    - three_seagrass 7y ago
      Keryx didn't apply for FDA approval until months later.
  - missedthecue 7y ago
    You're assuming some senator would have access to confidential FDA reports. This is not likely to be the case. What is likely to happen is people betting on new biotech issues. This looks like it is what happened. He turned about to right on that occasion.
    - three_seagrass 7y ago
      That's a straw man. The pharma company hadn't even applied for FDA approval yet.
      - missedthecue 7y ago
        So it was random price action? No catalyst? Then to cry insider trading is beyond absurd.
seph-reed 7y ago
> I honestly wish we could retroactively imprison them for doing this. Imprisonment is long and expensive. Just water-board them for a few weeks, record them saying they'll never do it again, and send them off with a some self help books on how not to be a piece of shit. They'll probably thank you later. EDIT: I'm now laughing about a self-help book titled: "So you just got water-boarded by an angry mob. Now what?"
Cyberdog 7y ago
> The current state of the U.S. is so damn embarrassing and shameful. I literally cringe when I imagine internationals seeing what we do here. Sadly, the concept of politicians using their positions for personal gain is not a uniquely American phenomenon.
- ant6n 7y ago
  True. Its also Common in many developing and undemocratic nations.
icedchai 7y ago
As I mentioned above, it's a biotech stock. Those sorts of jumps (and dumps) happen all the time around FDA approval dates.
- devit 7y ago
  Yeah, but perhaps he knew in advance that the FDA would approve? Of course, it could also have been modelling based on public info or simple gambling.
- three_seagrass 7y ago
  Nobody is surprised that the stock went up or down.
Wistar 7y ago
It IS illegal as defined by the STOCK Act of 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act
- ericmay 7y ago
  What can we do?
  - dragontamer 7y ago
    Hope the FBI does its job. That's on the President to prosecute and enforce corruption. One of the many duties of the President and the cabinet.
    - 0_gravitas 7y ago
      So give up, then
  - plicense 7y ago
    The senators are probably thinking "What can you do?".
  - sfj 7y ago
    Write a letter
  - crakenzak 7y ago
    if you're a US Taxpayer, file a complaint with the SEC here: https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html
  - threatofrain 7y ago
    It’s hard to do much. Senators can just tip off firms and friends.
rudyfink 7y ago
No, the truth appears to be boring and ordinary. The senator bought the shares on the 28th; the day the company issued a press release. If you go to the link below, you'll see what looks like it might be insider trading by others, but that occurred on the 23rd, not the 28th. He bought along with everyone else when information was public and he sold to take a quick gain. If you go to the link the parent provided and set the range for January 3, 2013 through February 3, 2013, you'll see the following: -The stock traded at around $2.80-$3.00 from January 1-January 22. In other words for almost all of the month. -On January 23 (Wed) the stock jumps to $3.75, stabilizing to around $3.30 a share by January 25 (Friday). Something is happening -On January 28 (Monday) the stock gaps up and opens at around $5.00 a share. That day at 7:00 a.m. the company issues a press release that it has had success with a new renal drug: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keryx-biopharmaceuticals-announces-zerenex-ferric-citrate-meets-primary-and-all-key-secondary-endpoints-in-phase-3-long-term-study-as-a-treatment-for-hyperphosphatemia-in-end-stage-renal-disease-patients-on-dialysis-188644631.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keryx-biopharmaceut...
- psb217 7y ago
  If you know which direction the released news will move the stock and roughly when the news will be released, you could sit waiting to pull the trigger faster than most people who were not similarly advantaged. It would be silly to do something egregious, but competently leveraging a persistent informational advantage will still lead to significant relative gains in the long term.

missedthecue 7y ago

>God damn, there is no way this is anything other than just brazenly obvious insider trading. How do you figure?

three_seagrass 7y ago
A U.S. senator buys random pharma stock the day before it announces their renal drug passed a trial, and then sold immediately after announcing.
- totalZero 7y ago
  So he traded the catalyst.
  - three_seagrass 7y ago
    Keryx didn't apply for FDA approval until months later.
- missedthecue 7y ago
  You're assuming some senator would have access to confidential FDA reports. This is not likely to be the case. What is likely to happen is people betting on new biotech issues. This looks like it is what happened. He turned about to right on that occasion.
  - three_seagrass 7y ago
    That's a straw man. The pharma company hadn't even applied for FDA approval yet.
    - missedthecue 7y ago
      So it was random price action? No catalyst? Then to cry insider trading is beyond absurd.

seph-reed 7y ago

> I honestly wish we could retroactively imprison them for doing this. Imprisonment is long and expensive. Just water-board them for a few weeks, record them saying they'll never do it again, and send them off with a some self help books on how not to be a piece of shit. They'll probably thank you later. EDIT: I'm now laughing about a self-help book titled: "So you just got water-boarded by an angry mob. Now what?"

Cyberdog 7y ago

> The current state of the U.S. is so damn embarrassing and shameful. I literally cringe when I imagine internationals seeing what we do here. Sadly, the concept of politicians using their positions for personal gain is not a uniquely American phenomenon.

ant6n 7y ago
True. Its also Common in many developing and undemocratic nations.

icedchai 7y ago

As I mentioned above, it's a biotech stock. Those sorts of jumps (and dumps) happen all the time around FDA approval dates.

devit 7y ago
Yeah, but perhaps he knew in advance that the FDA would approve? Of course, it could also have been modelling based on public info or simple gambling.
three_seagrass 7y ago
Nobody is surprised that the stock went up or down.

Wistar 7y ago

It IS illegal as defined by the STOCK Act of 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act

ericmay 7y ago
What can we do?
- dragontamer 7y ago
  Hope the FBI does its job. That's on the President to prosecute and enforce corruption. One of the many duties of the President and the cabinet.
  - 0_gravitas 7y ago
    So give up, then
- plicense 7y ago
  The senators are probably thinking "What can you do?".
- sfj 7y ago
  Write a letter
- crakenzak 7y ago
  if you're a US Taxpayer, file a complaint with the SEC here: https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html
- threatofrain 7y ago
  It’s hard to do much. Senators can just tip off firms and friends.

rudyfink 7y ago

No, the truth appears to be boring and ordinary. The senator bought the shares on the 28th; the day the company issued a press release. If you go to the link below, you'll see what looks like it might be insider trading by others, but that occurred on the 23rd, not the 28th. He bought along with everyone else when information was public and he sold to take a quick gain. If you go to the link the parent provided and set the range for January 3, 2013 through February 3, 2013, you'll see the following: -The stock traded at around $2.80-$3.00 from January 1-January 22. In other words for almost all of the month. -On January 23 (Wed) the stock jumps to $3.75, stabilizing to around $3.30 a share by January 25 (Friday). Something is happening -On January 28 (Monday) the stock gaps up and opens at around $5.00 a share. That day at 7:00 a.m. the company issues a press release that it has had success with a new renal drug: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keryx-biopharmaceuticals-announces-zerenex-ferric-citrate-meets-primary-and-all-key-secondary-endpoints-in-phase-3-long-term-study-as-a-treatment-for-hyperphosphatemia-in-end-stage-renal-disease-patients-on-dialysis-188644631.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keryx-biopharmaceut...

psb217 7y ago
If you know which direction the released news will move the stock and roughly when the news will be released, you could sit waiting to pull the trigger faster than most people who were not similarly advantaged. It would be silly to do something egregious, but competently leveraging a persistent informational advantage will still lead to significant relative gains in the long term.