On December 17th, StreetInsider.com wrote about a story in the New York Post that had shares of medical equipment company Arthrocare (NASDAQ: ARTC) trading down. According to StreetInsider:
According to the Post, about 75% of Arthrocare's US spinal unit business came from DiscoCare, although Arthrocare hasn't mentioned the unit's reliance on DiscoCare. The report also said the Massachusetts Attorney General's office is looking into the companies' relationship.
On Friday, Arthrocare defended itself, calling the reports materially inaccurate. Arthrocare also said it contacted the Massachusetts Attorney General's office and was informed that there was no such investigation.
Why am I quoting StreetInsider's story on a New York Post story rather than the New York Post itself? The Post piece on Arthrocare is no longer anywhere to be found! At one time, the story was located at this URL: http://www.nypost.com/seven/12112007/business/surgical_device_makers_growth_fueled_by__707429.htm
But now that's a dead link! Since then, Arthrocare has acquired DiscoCare, and the company has become a target of short-selling stock sleuth Andrew Left of Citron Research.
But it's hard to know what to make of the New York Post's vanishing act. Zack's equity analyst Gregory Aurand wrote this about the stock in the wake of the New York Post article:
We believe the reimbursement negatives are overstated and the company is seeking factual corrections to a New York Post article on its selling practices ... The company also commented in a recent press report alleging that one of the company's reimbursement service providers may have engaged in inappropriate business practices, including an inaccurate allegation that the Massachusetts Attorney General's office was probing into ARTC's relationship with its service provider. However, recently, ArthroCare contacted the Massachusetts Attorney General's office and was informed that there was no such investigation. ArthroCare has carefully reviewed the article in question and found numerous material inaccuracies. The company intends to contact the publisher to request a correction of the factual inaccuracies contained in the article.
The Arthrocare story is an interesting one but one of the most interesting questions is this: What the heck happened to the New York Post piece?
I emailed the New York Post seeking comment and will update this post with any new information.
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