3 Companies Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Today

Monday's trading action featured at least three companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

NephroGenex

NephroGenex Inc NRX, a pharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of treatment for kidney disease, announced it has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

"The Board and management team have conducted a rigorous assessment of all of our strategic alternatives and believe that this process represents the best possible solution for NephroGenex, taking into account our financial situation," said Richard J. Markham, chairman of the board of NephroGenex. "We are committed to an outcome that maximizes value and believe that a bankruptcy sale process will enable us to meet that objective."

Related Link: SunEdison Confirms It Has Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization

BIND Therapeutics

BIND Therapeutics Inc BIND, a clinical-stage nano-medicine platform company, similarly announced it has decided to file a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code.

"We believe this decision is in the best interests of the company and its stockholders," said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer, BIND Therapeutics.

"The protections afforded by Chapter 11 provide for an orderly process and additional time that enables us to pursue the strategic and financial alternatives that are in process. The filing minimizes the impact from the recent demand by our lender, Hercules Technology III, L.P, for accelerated repayment of our outstanding loan. Our current cash and assets exceed the loan amount, and we are current on our regularly scheduled repayment obligations. Through this process, we expect to be able to maintain ongoing financing activities and collaborator obligations while moving our R&D initiatives and pipeline forward."

Ultra Petroleum

Finally, Ultra Petroleum Corp. UPL, an oil and gas explorer, cited its $3.9 billion in debt and $1.3 billion in assets for declaring bankruptcy.

"The low commodity prices, and especially the low natural gas prices that prevailed throughout 2015 and have continued through the first four months of 2016 have had a devastating impact," Bloomberg quoted Chief Financial Officer Garland Shaw as saying in a filing.

At Time Of Writing...

• Ultra Petroleum Corp. has lost more than 58 percent since it's close on April 29. Trading was suspended on the stock Monday morning.
• BIND is down more than 73 percent on the day at $0.38.
• NephroGenex is down more than 62 percent on the day at $0.172.