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NEW: Perdue’s Stock Trades Surged During Pandemic, Invested in “Company That Supplies [PPE]” [AJC]

Perdue’s Trading Activity “Increased Nearly Threefold” Compared To Prior Year As Senator Bought Shares in DuPont, Netflix

A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution report shows that Georgia’s other Republican senator also made a series of well-timed stock trades as “the markets took a turn for the worse” and Georgia unemployment claims skyrocketed. Senator David Perdue engaged in “heavy trading” of up to seven figures in stocks, which represented a “nearly threefold” increase in his portfolio activity compared to the previous 13-month period. 

Among the investments Perdue made were in DuPont, “a chemical company that supplies personal protective equipment used by people trying to avoid exposure to the virus,” beginning the very same day as a private January all-senators coronavirus briefing, and in Netflix as millions of Americans have been stuck at home under shelter-in-place orders. Perdue also continued to sell shares in Caesars Entertainment while the casino industry has suffered major losses amid the pandemic.

Like his fellow Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler, Perdue has insisted that his trades are handled by “third-party advisors” without his knowledge, but has yet to provide any proof that he plays no role in his trades.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: David Perdue’s stock trading saw an uptick as coronavirus took hold

By Tia Mitchell

Key Points:

  • U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s financial portfolio saw heavy trading during the month of March, a period during which Congress passed three different spending bills to address the spread of COVID-19 and the markets took a turn for the worse.
  • The report lists 112 transactions, including 76 stock purchases costing as much as $1.8 million and 34 sales worth up to $825,000. Compared with the 13-month period before the coronavirus swept across America, Perdue’s portfolio activity has increased nearly threefold. There were an average of 38 individual transactions in monthly reports from January 2018 through February 2020.
  • Perdue logged 82 transactions on the report dated March 3. The report filed Sunday includes 110 stock-related line items.
  • Georgia’s senior senator, who is up for re-election this year, faced questions last month about his trading during the coronavirus pandemic and whether he used insider information to make a profit during the pandemic.
  • For example, he made a number of purchases of stock in DuPont de Nemours, a chemical company that supplies personal protective equipment used by people trying to avoid exposure to the virus. That includes buying shares worth as much as $65,000 on Jan. 24, the same day that the Senate held a members-only briefing on the novel coronavirus.
  • Perdue, like the others, said he has followed all rules and done nothing wrong.
  • “Since coming to the U.S. Senate in 2015, Sen. Perdue has always had an outside adviser managing his personal finances, and he is not involved in day-to-day decisions,” said his spokeswoman, Cherie Gillian. “For the past five years, the senator has fully complied with federal law and all Senate ethics requirements.”
  • As trading by Perdue and other senators during the novel coronavirus outbreak is scrutinized, securities law experts and some Democrats have said the law should be changed to prohibit members of Congress from buying or selling stocks for individual companies.
  • Perdue has avoided widespread criticism because he has done much more investing in the market in recent weeks than selling. However, some of those trades have been questioned, and transactions in the report filed over the weekend are likely to face the same scrutiny.
  • For example, he made a number of purchases of stock in DuPont de Nemours, a chemical company that supplies personal protective equipment used by people trying to avoid exposure to the virus. That includes buying shares worth as much as $65,000 on Jan. 24, the same day that the Senate held a members-only briefing on the novel coronavirus.
  • In total, Perdue reported 10 different DuPont stock purchases through March 2, representing an investment of up to $185,000.
  • He also continued to sell off shares of Caesar Entertainment, the casino company whose properties were shuttered as the virus spread. On March 26 the senator invested up to $50,000 in streaming provider Netflix, which has seen a surge in traffic as people stay home.

Read the full story here.

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Loeffler Won’t Answer Key Questions on Stock Transactions, “Can’t Say Anything That I Would Have Done Differently”

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