SEC Charges Andrew and Gray Stiles with Insider Trading on Kodak and Novavax Stock

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Andrew Stiles and his cousin, Gray Stiles, with insider trading based on nonpublic information related to two companies’ planned government partnerships for the fight against COVID-19. Andrew Stiles had learned about Kodak’s efforts to obtain a loan from the federal government in order to make chemicals to strengthen the domestic supply chain as part of the response to COVID-19, and used this information to buy 95,000 shares of Kodak stock before the announcement was made public, which netted more than $1.5 million in profits when sold after the announcement. The SEC also alleges that months earlier, while working as a consultant to pharmaceutical company Novavax, Andrew Stiles purchased 1,844 shares of Novavax stock based on material nonpublic information about the company’s efforts to secure funding to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, garnering him more than $45,000 in illicit profits. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement, and a civil penalty, as well as an officer and director bar against Andrew Stiles. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York annouced criminal charges against both Andrew and Gray Stiles.