Courtesy of Benzinga.
USANA Health Sciences< (NYSE: USNA) fell more than two percent Monday day after CNBC reporter Herb Greenberg once again suggested in a tweet the company faces unwanted scrutiny in China.
Greenberg’s tweet was almost identical to one he posted two weeks ago, when said the company is the topic of an “investigation” by a Chinese business publication. USANA shares fell five percent.
On Monday, shares of the Utah-based multi-level marketer were down $1.91 to $70.24.
Greenberg’s latest tweet on the company Monday said it’s is now the the topic of a follow-up article. As previously, Greenberg provided a link to a Chinese-language Web site which he did not purport to translate.
The earlier tweet almost immediately followed a report posted by short-seller Andrew Left saying that “this week multiple media outlets in China have exposed the multi-level marketing schemes operated by USANA.”
Left’s CitronResearch site was silent on USANA Monday.
Both Left and Greenberg have previously offered negative reports on USANA. The multi-level marketing company that provides nutritional supplements has also been the target of short sellers in the past.
Short interest currently accounts for about 1.55 million of USANA’s 13.9 million shares outstanding. That’s down from 1.6 million shares June 30.
Multi-level marketing has recently proven controversial.
Last week, short-seller Bill Ackman promised to deliver a “death blow” to the similar Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) in a conference speech.
In a widely published letter last month, Bill Keep, business dean of the College of New Jersey, asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to undertake an ongoing review of multilevel marketing. Keep’s letter refered broadly to the industry and specifically to Herbalife.
USANA traded down 2.4 percent Monday’s morning session to $70.24 a share; Herbalife, slated to report earnings later Monday, was down 0.5 percent to $66.41.
Posted-In: Herb GreenbergNews Rumors
