Hindenburg Research, a US-based short-seller founded in 2017, is being disbanded, founder Nate Anderson has said.
In a farewell note out shared on the research firm’s website on January 15 , Anderson said, "The plan has been to wind up after we finished the pipeline of ideas we were working on. And as of the last Ponzi cases we just completed and are sharing with regulators, that day is today."
Over the years, Hindenburg Research acquired a reputation of publishing scathing reports, targeting big companies and billionaires.
Here's a list of some of the companies that the short-seller published reports on:
Supermicro
In August 2024, Hindenburg disclosed a short position in San Jose-based IT firm Supermicro, alleging accounting failures. The next day, Supermicro said it would delay the filing of the annual report, causing its stock to collapse more 25 percent.
Icahn Enterprises
In May 2023, Hindenburg released a report on Icahn Enterprises and classified its structure, as Ponzi-like”, and noted Jefferies Group's research on the company as being "one of the worst cases of sell-side research malpractice we’ve seen".
Icahn Enterprises fell over 50 percent in the month after Hindenburg disclosed a short position.
Block
Two months earlier, Hindenburg had accused US- based tech firm Block of alleged illegal activities and said Twitter founder Jack Dorsey-led company failed to banned fraudsters from its platform.
Following the release of the report in March 2023, the company's shares dropped nearly 22 percent.
Adani Group
In January 2023, Hindenburg released a report on the Adani Group and flagged debt and accounting concerns. It claimed that the Indian conglomerate "has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades" . Following the report, Adani Group stock prices fell drastically.
Founder Gautam Adani's personal net worth took a hit too — from being third richest in the world, he slipped to 30th within a month.
Also Read | Adani Group stocks surge upto 7% after US short seller Hindenburg shuts shop
The company denied the charges and later recovered most of the market losses.
Hindenburg Research came out with another report in August 2024. It said whistleblower documents showed that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had a stake in obscure offshore entities used in the alleged Adani money siphoning case.
Clover Health
In February 2021, Hindenburg released a report about Medicare Advantage plan of Clover Health and claimed it did not inform investors about being investigated by the Department of Justice. The report also argued that billionaire stock promoter and entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya neglected due diligence and misled investors, as he took the company public via a special purpose acquisition company.
Nikola Corp
In September 2020, Hindenburg Research accused Nikola Corporation of being "an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies" and argued that its founder, Trevor Milton, was responsible for much of the fraudulent activities.
Following the release of the report, Nikola's stock dropped by 40 percent and a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry was opened. Milton was eventually found guilty of wire and securities fraud.
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