HAMILTON, Ontario, April 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RHT or OTC: RQHTF or WKN: A2AJTB) (“Reliq” or the “Company”), a rapidly growing global healthcare technology company that develops innovative Virtual Care solutions for the multi-billion dollar Healthcare market, is aware of a report issued on April 14, 2022 by a known short seller. This report contains defamatory, misleading and demonstrably false statements and conspiracy theories, which the Company believes were intended to negatively impact its share price for the financial benefit of short sellers.
The short position on the Company increased substantially in the weeks leading up to the distribution of the spurious report, with over 5 Million shares currently shorted. While the Company acknowledges the role of short selling in creating balance in the public markets, it strongly condemns the unscrupulous practice of “short and distort” campaigns in which short sellers intentionally publish false and misleading claims to needlessly alarm investors and manipulate the market for their own profit.
“Reliq is one of countless public companies who have been targeted by short selling firms employing deceptive practices to generate profits for short sellers at the expense of shareholders and to the detriment of the integrity of the public markets,” said Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq Health Technologies, Inc. “We encourage investors to do their own due diligence on their investments, and to question the intent and reliability of reports that include disclaimers indicating that the authors stand to realize significant gains by shorting the stock in question, that the statements made in the report represent their opinions and not established facts, or that make no representations as to the accuracy of the information presented. As disclosed in our SEDAR filings, over the past four quarters reported Reliq grew quarterly revenues by over 494% and increased gross margins from 43% to over 74%. When Reliq first entered the market in 2017/2018 it had only one product, clients in only one US state and was able to access only one CMS billing code. Today Reliq provides software and services to support over 10 CMS programs leveraging 23 different billing codes and has clients across the United States, in Puerto Rico and in the US Virgin Islands. Despite the multiple COVID surges that have heavily impacted the healthcare space over the past two years, Reliq has successfully grown its business and expects to have over 200,000 patients on its platform by mid-2023. This projection is based solely on existing contracts with current clients who are either already actively onboarding patients or have recently confirmed their implementation plans for the next 12-18 months. Driven by the significant increases by Medicare and Medicaid in reimbursements for virtual care programs and in program scope, the Company continues to anticipate rapid growth through 2022 and beyond.”
The Company has been made aware that the short selling firm responsible for the report in question is currently one of over two dozen firms that are the subject of a US Department of Justice (DOJ) probe launched in December 2021 into known short sellers and their practices (https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/vast-doj-probe-looks-at-almost-30-short-selling-firms-and-allies-1.1718553). The DOJ’s criminal investigation is being led by its fraud division with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles. The Company, through its attorneys, intends to submit evidence of the report’s multiple false and misleading claims to the DOJ in aid of this ongoing investigation.
Reliq Health Reliq Health Technologies is a rapidly growing global healthcare technology company that specializes in developing innovative Virtual Care solutions for the multi-billion dollar Healthcare market. Reliq’s powerful iUGO Care platform supports care coordination and community-based virtual healthcare. iUGO Care allows complex patients to receive high quality care at home, improving health outcomes, enhancing quality of life for patients and families and reducing the cost of care delivery. iUGO Care provides real-time access to remote patient monitoring data, allowing for timely interventions by the care team to prevent costly hospital readmissions and ER visits. Reliq Health Technologies trades on the TSX Venture under the symbol RHT, on the OTC as RQHTF and on the WKN as A2AJTB.
US Investor Relations Contact Investor Relations Lytham Partners, LLC Ben Shamsian New York | Phoenix 646-829-9701 shamsian@lythampartners.com
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Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information
Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements".
We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (the "Company") does not intend and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
