Nu Skin Enterprises

NUS

Nu Skin Enterprises is an American multilevel marketing company that develops and sells personal care products and dietary supplements under its Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. Nu Skin was founded in 1984 in Provo, Utah. The company originated in the United States and began its first foreign operation in Canada in 1990. One year later, the company began operations in Asia with the opening of Hong Kong. In 1996, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company markets its products in 54 markets through a network of approximately 1.2 million independent distributors.In the 1990s, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated Nu Skin over complaints of its multilevel marketing practices. In 1992, Nu Skin reached settlements with five states that had accused the company of deceptive advertising and overstating the income earned by distributors. In 1994, following an investigation by the FTC, the company paid $1 million and signed a consent decree prohibiting it from making deceptive or unsubstantiated claims about its products. In 1997, the company paid an additional $1.5 million to the FTC to settle ongoing allegations of unsubstantiated promotional claims. In January 2014, the Chinese government announced that it was investigating Nu Skin following a People's Daily newspaper report calling it a "suspected illegal pyramid scheme." In 2016, Nu Skin agreed to pay a $47 million settlement for operating a pyramid scheme after being sued by China in a Utah federal court.

Nu Skin Enterprises has been a target of short sellers for a while. The current short interest of 9.29% is significantly above the average of the last 12 months (5.81%).