Fortune: Insider Leaks Drove MEI Pharma’s Pre-Announcement Stock Spike Ahead of $100M Ethereum (ETH) Treasury Move
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Fortune reported that cancer drug developer MEI Pharma initiated a $100 million crypto treasury strategy in mid-July. In the days preceding the disclosure, MEI Pharma’s share price nearly doubled despite no new SEC filings, press releases, or notable social-media activity, raising questions about information flow ahead of the public announcement.
The investigation identified comparable pre-announcement surges at several small-cap issuers, including Kindly MD, Empery Digital, Fundamental Global, 180 Life Sciences, VivoPower, and Sonnet BioTherapeutics; spokespeople either declined to comment or did not respond, underscoring concerns about potential insider information and market leakage in connection with crypto-related corporate disclosures.
Some gains accrued to parties linked to the issuers rather than retail investors. ETH treasury company SharpLink saw its stock rise from $3 to over $6 in three trading days before its announcement, without SEC filings or press releases. A CEO of a crypto fund observed: “There was definitely leakage because they had contact with too many investors, so it was hard to control.”