May 13, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co. Securities Investigation On Behalf of HBB Shareholders – Shareholders Who Have Suffered Losses Greater Than $100K Encouraged To Contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co. (“Hamilton Beach” or the “Company”) (NYSE: HBB).
Hamilton Beach Discovers Certain Accounting Irregularities
On May 11, 2020, Hamilton Beach announced that it “discovered certain accounting irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at its Mexican subsidiary.” Hamilton Beach also disclosed that its “Audit Review Committee has commenced an internal investigation, with the assistance of outside counsel and other third-party experts, which is primarily focused on realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary in order to determine the impact these matters may have on the Company’s financial results.”
On this news, shares of Hamilton Beach stock dropped by approximately 9% to close at $10.43 per share.
Hamilton Beach investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, HBB common stock and suffered financial losses greater than $100K are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire, contact Kevin Cauley, Director, Business Development, (215) 792-6676, Ext. 802, or e-mail [email protected].
May 12, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
SEC Announces That Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Charged With Providing Misleading Information To Retail Clients
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making investors aware that on May 12, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“MSSB”) has agreed to settle charges that it provided misleading information to clients in its retail wrap fee programs regarding trade execution services and transaction costs. MSSB has agreed to pay a $5 million penalty that will be distributed to harmed investors.
According to the SEC, wrap fee programs offer accounts in which clients pay an asset-based “wrap fee” that covers investment advice and brokerage services, including trade execution. According to the SEC’s order, MSSB marketed its wrap fee accounts as offering clients professional investment advice, trade execution, and other services within a “transparent” fee structure. From at least October 2012 until June 2017, some of MSSB’s marketing and client communications gave the impression that wrap fee clients were not likely to incur additional trade execution costs. During that period, however, the SEC’s order finds that some MSSB managers routinely directed wrap fee clients’ trades to third-party broker-dealers for execution, which in some instances resulted in MSSB clients paying additional transaction fees that were not visible to them. As a result of MSSB’s conduct, the order finds that certain MSSB clients were unable to assess the value of the services received in exchange for the wrap fee paid to MSSB.
Without admitting or denying the findings, MSSB, according to the SEC, consented to the SEC’s order, which finds that MSSB violated provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, imposes a $5 million penalty, and includes a censure and a cease-and-desist order. The order also creates a Fair Fund to distribute the penalty paid by MSSB to harmed investors.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – SEC.gov
May 12, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Recro Pharma Securities Investigation – REPH Investors Who Suffered Financial Losses Encouraged To Contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is conducting an investigation into potential securities fraud by Recro Pharma, Inc. (“Recro Pharma” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: REPH) and certain of its officers.
Recro Pharma Revises Guidance Due To Recent Developments
On May 11, 2020, Recro Pharma announced (“Recro Reports First Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Update on COVID-19 Response and Impact“) that
[f]or 2020, the Company is revising its guidance as a result of recent developments, including:
Increased competition from one of [Recro Pharma’s] key customer’s competitors for certain product strengths that had previously been out of the market was trending at an approximate 30% of market share level, but recently has recovered to a greater sustained percentage of approximately 50% market share. This has impacted both anticipated future manufacturing volumes and profit sharing;
Slower than expected new business growth, which [Recro Pharma] believe[s] is primarily attributable COVID-19. COVID-19 has required different ways of meeting and contacting customers, and has slowed customer access, and caused reassessment of plans for development services by some customers and prospects for a variety of reasons, such as concerns about availability of development funding, timing of clinical trials, etc.; and
Notifications by two of [its] customers of discontinuations for two commercial product lines, that resulted in a decrease of approximately $4 million on previous 2020 revenue guidance and is estimated to have an annual impact to 2021 revenue of approximately $7 million to $8 million. [Emphasis added.]
Recro Pharma also announced that it “now expects its 2020 revenue to be in the range of $80-$85 million.”
On this news, shares of Recro Pharma stock dropped by approximately 40% from an opening share price of $8.42 per share to a closing price of $5.08 per share.
Recro Pharma investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, Recro Pharma common stock and suffered financial losses are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. via e-mail to [email protected] or by completing the form on the right.
May 5, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Shareholder Derivative Action Filed Against Certain Officers and Directors of Align Technology – Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. Investigating Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making investors aware that on May 4, 2020, a verified shareholder derivative complaint was filed in United States District Court, Northern District of California, against certain officers and directors of Align Technology, Inc. (“Align” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ALGN) seeking to remedy alleged breaches of fiduciary duties, insider trading, and violations of §10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
According to the complaint:
Align is a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and markets devices to treat misaligned teeth. It has two operating segments: (i) Clear Aligners, which markets Invisalign clear dental aligners; and (ii) Scanners and Services, which markets iTero intraoral scanners used to diagnose misalignment and fit Invisalign aligners. China, which is part of the Asia Pacific geographical market, is the second largest market for the Company after the United States.
In April 2019, the Company stated that its first quarter 2019 results reflected strong growth in markets led by certain countries, including China. At conferences throughout May and June 2019, Align continued to represent that, despite competition, the Company experienced growth in China due to recent investments including manufacturing and training facilities near its Chinese customers.
On July 24, 2019, Align revealed lower case shipments of its Invisalign product during second quarter 2019 “primarily due to a softness in China.”
On this news, Align’s stock price fell $74.26, or nearly 27%, to close at $200.90 per share on July 25, 2019.
These revelations precipitated the filing of a securities class action in this District against Align and certain of defendants, captioned City of Roseville Employees’ Retirement System v. Align Technology, Inc., et al. . . ..
The shareholder derivative complaint alleges that the Align
. . . Defendants’ conduct set forth [in the shareholder derivative complaint] was due to their intentional or reckless breach of the fiduciary duties they owed to the Company. The Individual Defendants intentionally or recklessly breached or disregarded their fiduciary duties to protect the rights and interests of Align.
In breach of their fiduciary duties owed to Align, the Individual Defendants willfully participated in and caused the Company to expend unnecessarily its corporate funds, rendering them personally liable to the Company for breaching their fiduciary duties.
In particular, the Individual Defendants knowingly or recklessly made untrue statements and/or permitted the Company’s public filings, disclosures, and statements to misleadingly represent the demand for Align’s products in China.
As a direct and proximate result of the Individual Defendants’ breaches of their fiduciary obligations, Align has sustained and continues to sustain significant damages. Including direct monetary damages, exposure to liability from securities litigation and a loss of goodwill in the capital markets. As a result of the misconduct alleged herein, defendants are liable to the Company. [Emphasis added.]
Investors who have continuously held Align Technology stock since August 2017 are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. by completing the form on the right or e-mailing [email protected] to discuss the investigation or potential legal claims.
May 4, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Shareholder Derivative Action Filed Against Certain Officers and Directors of Crown Castle International Corp. – Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. Investigating Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Certain Officers And/Or Directors of Crown Castle
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making investors aware that a shareholder derivative action has been filed in United States District Court for the District of Delaware for the benefit, of Crown Castle International Corp. (“Crown Castle” or the “Company”) (NYSE: CCI) seeking to remedy the individual Crown Castle Defendants’ breach of fiduciary duties, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment, and violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that occurred between February 27, 2018 through the present (the “Relevant Period”) and have caused substantial harm to the Company.
According to the complaint, Crown Castle Defendants
. . . issued materially false and/or misleading statements, because the statements misrepresented and failed to disclose the following adverse facts pertaining to the Company’s business, operations and prospects, which were known to the Individual Defendants or recklessly disregarded by them. Specifically, Individual Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosures controls and procedures were ineffective and materially weak; (ii) the Company’s financial accounting and reporting was not in accordance with GAAP; (iii) the Company’s net income, adjusted EBITDA, and AFFO were inflated; (iv) the Company would need to restate its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, and unaudited financial information for the quarterly and year-to-date periods in the year ended December 31, 2018, and for the first three quarters in the year ended December 31, 2019; and (v) as a result, Individual Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Crown Castle investors who have held Crown Castle securities continuously since at least February 27, 2018 are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss potential legal claims.
Apr 30, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
SCWorx Corp. Subject of Class Action Lawsuit On Behalf of Purchasers or Acquirers of SCWorx Corp Stock Between April 13, 2010 and April 17, 2020
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating securities claims on behalf individuals and entities who purchased, or otherwise acquired, shares of SCWorx Corp. (“SCWorx” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: WORX) between April 13, 2020 and April 17, 2020, both dates inclusive.
On April 29, 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against SCWorx on behalf of persons and entities that purchased, or otherwise acquired, SCWorx securities between April 13, 2020 and April 17, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit is pursuing claims against the SCWorx Defendants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
According to the complaint, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the SCWorx Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that SCWorx’s supplier for COVID-19 tests had previously misrepresented its operations; (2) that SCWorx’s buyer was a small company that was unlikely to adequately support the purported volume of orders for COVID-19 tests; (3) that, as a result, the Company’s purchase order for COVID-19 tests had been overstated or entirely fabricated; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
On April 13, 2020, pre-market, SCWorx announced that it had received a committed purchase order of two million COVID-19 rapid testing kits, “with provision for additional weekly orders of 2 million units for 23 weeks, valued at $35M per week.”
On this news, the share price of ScWorx increased by $9.77, closing at $12.02 per share on April 13, 2020.
On April 17, 2020, Hindenburg Research issued a report doubting the validity of the deal, calling it “completely bogus.” Hindenburg Research alleged that the COVID-19 test supplier that SCWorx is buying from, Promedical, has a CEO “who formerly ran another business accused of defrauding its investors and customers” and “was also alleged to have falsified his medical credentials.” According to the report, Promedical claimed to the FDA and regulators in Australia to be offering COVID-19 test kits manufactured by Wondfo, but Wondfo “disavowed any relationship” and the buyer that SCWorx claimed to have lined up does not appear to be “capable of handling hundreds of millions of dollars in orders.”
On this news, the share price of SCWorx fell $1.19, or more than 17%, over three consecutive trading sessions, closing at $5.76 per share on April 21, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume.
On April 22, 2020, the SEC halted trading of the Company’s stock.
SCWorx investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, WORX securities during the Class Period April 13, 2020-April 17, 2020, both dates inclusive, and suffered losses are encouraged to contact either Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], or John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], to discuss the class action lawsuit or potential legal claims.
