Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Announces Investigation of Hyperdynamics Corporation

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Feb 16, 2012, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at Hyperdynamics Corporation ("Hyperdynamics" or the "Company") (NYSE: HDY).

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Hyperdynamics is an oil and gas exploration company operating in the Gulf of Guinea. On March 25, 2011, Hyperdynamics announced the public offering of 25,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock priced at $5.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $144,000,000. On July 8, 2011, Hyperdynamics announced that the Company would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange on or around July 11, 2011. Hyperdynamics' president and CEO Ray Leonard stated that the move was planned so as "to build shareholder value for the long term."

On September 7, 2011, CEO Ray Leonard made a series of optimistic statements regarding the Company's future prospects. Moreover, he elaborated on an earlier statement that "this will not end well for the short-sellers" by claiming that "short-sellers, to some extent, are betting against success of the Company. We are very confident in our program and in the prospectivity of this acreage. I guess you can put two and two together on that." In addition, the CEO acknowledged that there had been substantial insider buying in the $1 range, but that this had effectively ceased once the stock price had reached $4.

After hours on November 8, 2011, Hyperdynamics disclosed that its Q3 2011 net loss had increased to $4.38M, 52% above the prior year's losses, for a quarterly EPS of -$0.03. This exceeded analysts' expectations of a Q3 loss of -$0.02 EPS. Between market close on November 8, 2011 and market close on November 9, 2011, Hyperdynamics' share price fell by $1.33, or almost 25%, to $4.06.

On December 14, 2011, Hyperdynamics announced drilling delays on the Company's Sabu-1 well. The Company's share price closed at $2.16 on December 14, 2011 from opening at $3.07 on December 13, 2011 – a drop of almost 30%. Then, on January 30, 2012, the Company announced that it would raise $30 Million in a Registered Direct Offering. On this news, the Company's share price plunged by almost 23%.

On February 15, 2012, Hyperdynamics issued a press release announcing that the Company "Encounters Oil Shows in Sabu-1 Well Offshore Guinea-Conakry." The announcement disclosed that "the indicated oil saturation appears to be residual, suggesting that larger volumes of oil formerly were present in the reservoirs but subsequently leaked out or that these rocks lay on a hydrocarbon migration pathway." The Company's share price dropped almost 8% on intraday trading – before the disclosure – and plummeted by over 30% after hours. The Company is now trading at around $1.38, compared to $5.39 as recently as November 8, 2011.

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Take Action

If you purchased Hyperdynamics securities and would like to discuss your legal rights, visit www.faruqilaw.com/HDY. You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello or Francis McConville toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Hyperdynamics' conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

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FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
369 Lexington Avenue, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.
[email protected]
Francis McConville, Esq.
[email protected]
Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330