TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Finance executives at respected Taiwanese wealth management company Crest View International has reported on Kodak shares surging 1,481% following heavy trading as the Trump administration offered the former photography industry leader a financial lifeline to manufacture ingredients for drugs to be used to battle coronavirus.

"Kodak's valuation leapt from $92 million to $1.5 billion as its shares climbed from $2.10 at Friday's close to $33.20 yesterday," reported Michael Kennedy, Head of Corporate Trading at Crest View International. "During the first few hours of trading yesterday morning, the stock was halted more than a dozen times, just a day after it had more than tripled in value," he added.

The intensity of trading far exceeded anything witnessed since the company returned to the New York Stock Exchange after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2013.

Kodak, which is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and the US International Development Finance Corporation, revealed on Tuesday that the company had secured a $765 million loan to manufacture drug ingredients under the Defence Production Act.

According to analysts at Crest View International, Kodak's shares started to climb on Monday, following an affiliate of CBS, WROC television station, publishing and then deleting a report, saying an announcement from the company was expected on Tuesday. The WROC report did not include specifics on what the two firms would reveal, beyond a COVID-19-related manufacturing agreement.

"By close of trading on Monday, Kodak shares had gained 25% after 1.65 million shares changed hands, which is more than 14 times the daily average of the preceding ten trading days," reported Robert Woods, Senior Vice President of Crest View International.

On Wednesday, the executive chairman of Kodak, Jim Continenza said that he "couldn't tell you what influenced that volume" on Monday, however, the team at Kodak "knew for over a week" about the forthcoming announcement. "I mean obviously this has been a pretty tight kept secret, even until the last day," he said.

Kodak's trading volumes continued to climb throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, with more than $10.9 billion worth of the stock, around 558 million shares, changing hands.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has refused to say whether it will investigate the surge in trading activity prior to the announcement. Kodak and Nexstar, the owner of WROC, declined to comment.

About Crest View International

Crest View International Limited is a private wealth management company headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Crest View International manages over $8.7 billion (USD) on behalf of its clients from around the world.

Related Links

https://www.crestviewcapital.com/

Contacts

Mr. Nathan Hu, Head of Research.

Switchboard +886-2-7741-4004 | Email [email protected]
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