On February 25, 2021, after market hours, Baker Hughes filed its annual report with the SEC. In the report, Baker Hughes revealed that, in December of 2020, the SEC had notified Baker Hughes of an investigation into the Company “related to its books and records and internal controls regarding sales of its products and services in projects impacted by U.S. sanctions.” Baker Hughes also revealed that it had also initiated an internal review “regarding internal controls and compliance related to U.S. sanctions requirements.”
On this news, Baker Hughes share prices fell by $0.25 to close at $24.48 on February 26, 2021 on heavy trading volume. Over the next several trading days, Baker Hughes shares continued to trade at unusually high volumes, and the price dropped as low as $23.00 per share on March 4, 2021.