SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman updates investors in the following publicly-traded companies and urges investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm. Further details about the cases, including upcoming application deadlines, can be found at the links provided.
ALGN Investors Click Here.
ALLK Investors Click Here.
CRON Investors Click Here.
VMW Investors Click Here.
Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) Securities Class Action:
Class Period: Apr. 24, 2019 – July 24, 2019
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 1, 2020
Sign Up: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/ALGN
Contact An Attorney Now: ALGN@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895
The complaint focuses on Align’s misrepresentations and concealments about the Company’s operations in China, the Company’s most valuable market after the U.S.
The complaint alleges that Defendants repeatedly and positively described the huge market opportunity and tremendous growth in China for Align’s Invisalign products while omitting to disclose material declines in Chinese demand for the products.
On July 24, 2019, after the market closed, the truth emerged when Align announced disappointing Q2 2019 financial results revealing declining Invisalign sales. The Company blamed the poor performance on softness in the China market related to a tougher consumer environment, in stark contrast to its earlier statements.
This news sent the price of Align shares down nearly $75, or down over 27%, on July 25, 2019.
Allakos (ALLK) Securities Class Action:
Class Period: Aug. 5, 2019 - Dec. 17, 2019
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 11, 2020
Sign Up: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/ALLK
Contact An Attorney Now: ALLK@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895
The complaint alleges Defendants misled investors about the Company’s Phase 2 clinical trial (the “ENIGMA Trial”) for its flagship AK002 drug intended to treat patients with certain stomach diseases. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and concealed that: (1) the ENIGMA Trial was poorly designed and not well-controlled; (2) Allakos had cherry-picked timeframes to engineer results for the ENIGMA Trial; (3) Allakos used superficial endpoints in the ENIGMA Trial relative to FDA guidance; (4) Allakos inaccurately reported the number of adverse incidents that occurred during the ENIGMA Trial; and (5) the Company failed to report other key data from the ENIGMA Trial.
According to the complaint, investors began to learn the truth on Dec. 18, 2019, when Seligman Investments published a scathing report entitled, “A Suspect Biotech with a Phase 2 Farce, Incredulous Trial Investigators, and Warning Signs of Potential Fraud,” identifying several concerns with the ENIGMA Trial. Among other things, Seligman’s 215-page report concluded that the ENIGMA Trial results “are compromised by 1) glaring omissions, 2) cherry-picked measures, and 3) statistical gimmicks and obfuscation.” On this news, Allakos shares declined $13.25, or about 10%, on Dec. 18, 2019, wiping out over $1 billion in market capitalization.
Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) Securities Class Action:
Class Period: May 9, 2019 - Mar. 2, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 11, 2020
Sign Up: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/CRON
Contact An Attorney Now: CRON@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895
The complaint alleges that, while touting Cronos’ revenue growth, Defendants concealed that Cronos engaged in significant transactions and improperly recognized revenue from them. According to the complaint, Cronos also misstated the value of its inventory in its financial statements.
The market began to learn the truth: (1) first on Feb. 24, 2020, when Cronos announced it would delay its Q4 and FY 2019 earnings release and conference call, previously scheduled for Feb. 27, 2020, (2) second on Mar. 2, 2020, when Cronos announced that its Audit Committee was reviewing the Company’s recognition of revenue from several bulk resin transactions made through its wholesale channel, (3) third on Mar. 17, 2020, when Cronos announced it will restate previously issued financial statements for Q1 – Q3 2019 to eliminate revenues recognized from certain wholesale transactions, (4) fourth, on Mar. 20, 2020, when MarketWatch reported that the SEC opened an inquiry into Cronos’ revenue recognition.
On Mar. 30, 2020, Defendants released restated financials for the first three quarters of 2019, admitting that Cronos massively overreported accounts receivable, gross revenues and gross profits before fair value adjustments. In addition, the Company reported a gross loss of nearly $20.4 million for Q4 2019, driven by inventory write-downs of $24 million, including a $22.1 million charge on the value of its cannabis plants.
VMware, Inc. (VMW) Securities Class Action:
Class Period: Mar. 30, 2019 - Feb. 27, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 1, 2020
Sign Up: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/VMW
Contact An Attorney Now: VMW@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895
The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s financial performance. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Defendants falsely represented and concealed that: (i) VMware’s reporting with respect to its backlog of unfilled orders was not in compliance with all relevant accounting and disclosure requirements; (ii) the foregoing subjected the Company to a foreseeable risk of heightened regulatory scrutiny and/or investigation; and (iii) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times
The Complaint alleges that the truth emerged on Feb. 27, 2020, when after the market closed, the Company announced disappointing Q4 results and disclosed that in Dec. 2019 the SEC requested documents and information related to VMware’s backlog and associated accounting and disclosures. Significantly, on the Q4 2019 earnings call, VMware disclosed that its total backlog was only $18 million, down massively from $449 million in the year-ago quarter. This news sent the price of VMware shares sharply lower the next day.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding ALGN, ALLK, CRON, and/or VMW should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email ALGN@hbsslaw.com, ALLK@hbsslaw.com, CRON@hbsslaw.com, and/or VMW@hbsslaw.com.
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Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895