Enochian Biosciences (NASDAQ:ENOB) stock gained 20% today despite the arrest of founder Serhat Gumrukcu. Gumrukcu was arrested on Tuesday in a murder-for-hire conspiracy.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Gumrukcu, an inventor and the co-founder of Enochian, was charged with conspiring to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, resulting in the death of Gregory Davis. The murder of Davis occurred in 2018. Davis was apparently a resident of Danville, Vermont, the district that is charging Gumrukcu.
The DOJ announced that officials also arrested Berk Eratay, a 35-year-old resident of Las Vegas. Two other men were both previously charged with crimes related to the kidnapping and murder of Davis.
Although he founded the company, Enochian maintains he has long been removed from its day-to-day operations.
ENOB Stock Gains After Company Issues Statement on Founder
Last week, Gumrukcu sold 253,000 shares of Enochian, priced at $8 each. He still holds about 30 million shares of ENOB between himself and his spouse, making him the single largest shareholder. At the time of writing, this position is worth nearly $130 million.
Enochian shares plummeted 37% Wednesday when the news broke. Dr. Mark Dybul, Enochian’s CEO, has since released a statement on the matter.
“We are fully committed to advancing, and in fact, accelerating, the development of potential commercial products that could potentially save and lift-up many millions of lives. The personal life of the inventor and co-founder does not alter those fundamental facts. Indeed, there has never been a formal role for Dr. Gumrukçu in the Company and his remaining informal role as a scientific advisor has concluded. We look forward to the work ahead.”
Enochian is best known for its treatments of HIV, hepatitis B and cancer. It’s unclear how the arrest of Gumrukcu will affect the company moving forward.
However, investors should note that prominent short-selling firm Hindenburg Research has taken interest in ENOB stock. Yesterday, the company revealed it held a short position in Enochian and would be following up with a full report next week.
We have prepared a full report on Serhat Gumrukcu and his career as a lifelong con artist, which we are releasing next week.
It is easily the most deranged story we have ever researched. We are short $ENOB pic.twitter.com/BInLrYLT88
— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) May 25, 2022
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
