Did you lose money on investments in Natera? If so, please visit Natera, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.
NEW YORK, June 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the common stock of Natera, Inc. (“Natera” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: NTRA) between February 26, 2020 and April 19, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Natera offers genetic testing in the areas of women’s health, oncology, and organ health. Among other things, the Company produces and markets a non-invasive prenatal test (“NIPT”) called “Panorama,” and a screening test for kidney transplant failure called “Prospera.” Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly assured investors that Panorama was reliable, that Prospera was more accurate than competing tests, and that Natera’s growth was driven by its superior technology and customer experience.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants’ statements were materially false and misleading when made because: (1) Panorama was not reliable and resulted in high rates of false positives; (2) Prospera did not have superior precision compared to competing tests; (3) as a result of Defendants’ false and misleading claims about Natera’s technology, the Company was exposed to substantial legal and regulatory risks; and (4) Natera relied upon deceptive sales and billing practices to drive its revenue growth.
On January 1, 2022, The New York Times published a detailed report calling into question the accuracy of certain prenatal tests manufactured by Natera and other diagnostic testing companies. The New York Times reported that Natera’s positive results for several genetic disorders were incorrect more than 80 percent of the time. On this news, the price of Natera common stock fell $5.35 per share, or approximately 6% over two trading days, from a close of $93.39 per share on December 31, 2021, to close at $88.04 per share on January 4, 2022.
Less than two weeks later, on January 14, 2022, the Campaign for Accountability – a nonprofit watchdog group – filed a complaint with the SEC requesting an investigation as to whether “Natera repeatedly claimed – in marketing materials and earnings calls – that [its] tests are much more reliable than it appears they really are.” On this news, the price of Natera common stock fell $6.29 per share, or more than 9%, from a close of $67.37 per share on January 14, 2022, to close at $61.08 per share on January 18, 2022.
Then, on March 9, 2022, Hindenburg Research issued an investigative report alleging that “Natera’s revenue growth has been fueled by deceptive sales and billing practices aimed at doctors, insurance companies and expectant mothers.” On this news, the price of Natera common stock fell as much as $28.65 per share, or more than 52%, from a close of $54.75 per share on March 8, 2022, to an intra-day low of $26.10 per share on March 9, 2022.
Further, on March 14, 2022, a jury found that Natera had intentionally and willfully misled the public by utilizing false advertisements to market Prospera in violation of the federal Lanham Act, the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and Delaware common law. The jury found that Natera’s marketing falsely claimed that Prospera was more accurate than the competing kidney transplant testing offered by CareDx, Inc. (“CareDx”), and ultimately awarded CareDx $44.9 million in monetary damages. On this news, Natera common stock fell as much as $8.81 per share, or approximately 22.5%, from an intra-day high of $39.13 per share on March 14, 2022, to close at $30.32 per share on March 15, 2022.
Finally, on April 19, 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a safety communication “to educate patients and health care providers and to help reduce the inappropriate use of [NIPTs].” The FDA cautioned that statements about NIPTs’ reliability and accuracy “may not be supported with sound scientific evidence” and revealed the existence of “cases where a screening test reported a genetic abnormality and a confirmatory diagnostic test later found that the fetus was healthy.” On this news, the price of Natera common stock fell as much as $1.53 per share, or approximately 3.9%, from an intra-day high of $39.63 per share on April 19, 2022, to close at $38.10 per share on April 20, 2022.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 27, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn’t require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.
If you purchased NTRA common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Natera, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com.
Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.
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Contact Information:
Peter Allocco
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
pallocco@bernlieb.com
