SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro apparently issued an executive order - elevate the Commission's insider trading investigation at hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors and dig deeper into its trading records.  Makes sense - after all, just last week Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was questioning the SEC on how it [mis]handled referrals from FINRA regarding 20 stock trades by SAC.  Yes, for a time, the SEC was both the hunter and the prey."

Reportedly, the SEC is investigating whether trades in health care stocks by SAC Capital, as recently as last year, were made using inside information.  The firm has, of late, become something of a focal point for authorities - after 2 former SAC portfolio managers pleaded guilty to criminal charges of using inside information to trade technology stocks.

SEC Going Beyond Those 20 Trades.   It would appear that the SEC investigation is much broader than trading in health care stocks.  In fact, SEC staffers are looking at trades from at least 2007 through 2010 - while examining how SAC used expert network firms.  Of particular interest for the SEC is SAC's trading in biotech company MedImmune which, in 2007, was taken over.  Did SAC obtain and trade on material non-public information?   The SEC isn't telling.

Neither SAC nor its billionaire founder, Steven A. Cohen, has been accused of wrongdoing by the S.E.C. or by any other authority.  Although federal prosecutors are examining trades in an account overseen by Mr. Cohen.

It's also interesting to note that MedImmune is not among those 20 trades referred by FINRA, according to people briefed on the matter.  SAC executives including Peter Nussbaum, the firm’s general counsel, and its outside lawyers met with staff members in Mr. Grassley’s office to discuss his inquiry.

The inquiries into the SAC trades are part of an accelerating effort by the S.E.C. and the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan to crack down on insider trading, with a particular focus on hedge funds. The criminal investigations by federal prosecutors have resulted in charges against 49 people, 39 of whom have pleaded guilty.

For further details, refer to:   [NYT Dealbook, 6/1/11, "SAC Capital Said to Face.."]