WASHINGTON — California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein took to Twitter on Friday to deny she did anything improper when she sold between $1.5 million and $6 million in a biotechnology company’s stock before the market crashed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The New York Times reported that Feinstein and three other senators sold large amounts of stock in late January and early February, as federal officials publicly downplayed the threat of the virus. The sales came shortly after Trump administration officials provided classified briefings to senators on the threat from the virus, the Times and other media outlets reported.

“During my Senate career I’ve held all assets in a blind trust of which I have no control,” Feinstein tweeted. “Reports that I sold any assets are incorrect.”

Feinstein and her husband, investment banker Richard Blum, sold shares in Allogene Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, according to her financial disclosures. They sold shares on Jan. 13 and Feb. 18. The stock subsequently rose in value, peaking in early March.

Feinstein said her husband sold shares in a cancer therapy company that “is unrelated to any work on the coronavirus and the sale was unrelated to the situation.”

Feinstein’s comments came as a furor erupted around reports of stock sales by GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He and his wife sold 33 stocks on Feb. 13 worth a total $628,000 to $1.7 million, according to media reports, including more than $200,000 in hotel chain stocks. Many of the stocks have plunged in value since the pandemic struck the U.S.

Two other Republican senators, Sens. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, also sold large amounts of stock shortly before the pandemic hit, according to media reports.

Feinstein said reports that she attended a Jan. 24 Intelligence Committee classified briefing with administration officials on the coronavirus threat were incorrect. That briefing was in the same time frame as the stock sales by her and the other senators.

“I was unable to attend,” Feinstein tweeted.

President Trump defended Feinstein and the other senators during a news conference at the White House, though he said he hasn’t looked into the matter. He repeated Feinstein’s name several times, without naming the Republican senators.

“I think she’s a very honorable person,” he said. “I find them to be honorable people.”

Burr said Friday that he has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to look into his stock sales and denied he had traded on nonpublic information. He said he had “relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks.”

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner