Nikola (NKLA) CEO Milton Buys $1.3M in Stock Amid Short Attack
Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA) CEO, Trevor Milton, disclosed he bought 41,400 shares on 09/14 at prices from $30.10-$33.60. The purchases come after the company defending itself against short-seller attacks.
Shares were bought through Mr. Milton's M&M Residual, LLC entity.
Last week, Hindenburg Research issued a short report saying they "believe Nikola is an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies over the course of its Founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton’s career."
The short report followed a major deal with General Motors (NYSE: GM).
Nikola said it believes that "the Hindenburg report, and the opportunistic timing of its publication shortly after announcement of Nikola's partnership with General Motors Co. and the resulting positive share price reaction, was designed to provide a false impression to investors and to negatively manipulate the market in order to financially benefit short sellers, including Hindenburg itself." Nikola said it has contacted and briefed the SEC regarding Nikola's concerns pertaining to the Hindenburg report.
FORM 4 | UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 |
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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b). |
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
(Street)
| 2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Nikola Corp [ NKLA ] | 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)
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3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 09/14/2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year) | 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
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Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned | ||||||||||
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1. Title of Security (Instr. 3) | 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) | 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) | 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) | 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) | 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) | 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) | 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) | |||
Code | V | Amount | (A) or (D) | Price | ||||||
Common Stock | 09/14/2020 | P | 28,452 | A | $ 30.1008 | 91,631,186 | I | By M&M Residual, LLC (1) | ||
Common Stock | 09/14/2020 | P | 3,643 | A | $ 30.9623 | 91,634,829 | I | By M&M Residual, LLC (1) | ||
Common Stock | 09/14/2020 | P | 905 | A | $ 31.2 | 91,635,734 | I | By M&M Residual, LLC (1) | ||
Common Stock | 09/14/2020 | P | 8,400 | A | $ 33.5999 | 91,644,134 | I | By M&M Residual, LLC (1) |
Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) | |||||||||||||||
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1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) | 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security | 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) | 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) | 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) | 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) | 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year) | 7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4) | 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) | 9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) | 10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) | 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) | ||||
Code | V | (A) | (D) | Date Exercisable | Expiration Date | Title | Amount or Number of Shares |
Explanation of Responses: |
1. As manager of M&M Residual, Mr. Milton may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own shares held by such entity. |
/s/ Britton M. Worthen, Attorney-in-fact | 09/14/2020 | |
** Signature of Reporting Person | Date | |
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. | ||
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v). | ||
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a). | ||
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure. | ||
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number. |