NEW YORK, June 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNA), Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRO), LMP Automotive Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMPX), and Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNA)
Class Period: February 24, 2021 – May 5, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 22, 2022
CareDx is a diagnostics company that offers diagnostic testing services, products, and digital healthcare software for organ transplant patients and care providers. Testing services for kidney and heart transplant recipients represented at least 85% of CareDx’s total revenues, and the Company’s AlloSure blood test for transplant recipients was the Company’s primary source of revenue. Additionally, the higher reimbursement payment rates for its Medicare-approved tests drove growth of the Company’s average sale price (“ASP”), an important metric for investors. Throughout the Class Period, CareDx reported growing revenue and strong demand in the Company’s testing services segment. Defendants also emphasized to investors the success of the Company’s RemoTraC service – a remote, home-based, blood-drawing service that the Company launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Class Action alleges that, during the Class Period, Defendants misled investors and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Defendants had engaged in a variety of improper and illegal schemes to inflate testing services revenue and demand, including pushing a surveillance protocol through inaccurate marketing materials, offering extravagant inducements or kickbacks to physicians and other providers, and improperly bundling expensive testing services with other blood tests as part of the RemoTraC service; (2) these practices, and others, subjected CareDx to an undisclosed risk of regulatory scrutiny; (3) these practices rendered the Company’s testing services revenue reported throughout the Class Period artificially inflated; and (4) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
The truth began to emerge on October 28, 2021, when CareDx filed its quarterly report for the third quarter of 2021 on Form 10-Q with the SEC. Under the heading “United States Department of Justice and United States Securities and Exchange Commission Investigation,” the Company revealed for the first time that CareDx was the subject of at least three government investigations related to its “accounting and public reporting practices.” In response to this news, CareDx’s stock price fell 27%, from a closing price of $70.34 per share on October 28, 2021, to a closing price of $51.00 per share on October 29, 2021.
Investors learned more about the nature of the government investigations when, on April 15, 2022, CareDx’s former Head of Community Nephrology, Dr. Michael Olymbios, filed a complaint in California Superior Court that provided extensive detail about: (1) Defendants’ misconduct, including the use of RemoTraC to improperly bundle the Company’s most expensive testing services, including AlloSure, with other blood tests, that led to the government investigations; (2) Defendants’ knowledge of the misconduct throughout the Class Period; and (3) their attempts to conceal the misconduct. In response to this filing, CareDx’s stock price fell an additional 8% the next trading day, from a closing price of $35.41 per share on April 14, 2022, to a closing price of $32.55 per share on April 18, 2022.
Finally, after the markets closed on May 5, 2022, CareDx issued a press release announcing financial results for the first quarter of 2022, reporting a near 5% decline in the ASP of the Company’s testing services. In response to this news, CareDx’s stock price fell 18.5%, from a closing price of $31.66 per share on May 5, 2022, to a closing price of $25.87 per share on May 6, 2022.
For more information on the CareDx class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CDNA
Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRO)
Class Period: October 28, 2021 – May 2, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 25, 2022
Spero, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections and rare diseases in the United States. The Company's product candidates include Tebipenem Pivoxil Hydrobromide (HBr), an oral carbapenem-class antibiotic to treat complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis for adults.
On October 28, 2021, Spero announced that it had submitted a New Drug Application (“NDA”) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for Tebipenem HBr for the Treatment of Complicated Urinary Tract Infections including Pyelonephritis (the “Tebipenem HBr NDA”).
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the data submitted in support of the Tebipenem HBr NDA were insufficient to obtain FDA approval; (ii) accordingly, it was unlikely that the FDA would approve the Tebipenem HBr NDA in its current form; (iii) the foregoing would necessitate a significant workforce reduction and restructuring of Spero’s operations; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On March 31, 2022, Spero issued a press release announcing the Company’s fourth quarter and full year 2021 financial results. In the press release, Spero disclosed that “[t]he U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified Spero that, as part of its ongoing review of Spero’s New Drug Application (NDA) for tebipenem HBr, it has identified deficiencies that preclude discussion of labeling and post-marketing requirements/commitments at this time.”
On this news, Spero’s stock price fell $1.59 per share, or 18.27%, to close at $7.11 per share on April 1, 2022.
Then on May 3, 2022, Spero issued a press release announcing “that it will immediately defer current commercialization activities for tebipenem HBr based on feedback from a recent Late Cycle Meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding Spero’s New Drug Application (NDA) for tebipenem HBr[,]” and that, “[a]lthough the review is still ongoing and the FDA has not yet made any final determination regarding approvability, the discussion suggested that the data package may be insufficient to support approval during this review cycle.” Specifically, the FDA advised the Company, in relevant part, that the FDA’s separate analysis of the relevant study population had “reduce[d] the number of evaluable patients in the primary analysis population compared with those resulting from the trial’s pre-specified micro-ITT population as outlined in the statistical analysis plan and [a]s a result, the FDA considers that the pre-specified non-inferiority margin of -12.5% was not met.” Further, the press release advised that, “[i]n connection with this development, Spero announced that it is undertaking a reduction in its workforce by approximately 75% and a restructuring of its operations to reduce operating costs and reallocate resources.”
On this news, Spero’s stock price fell $3.24 per share, or 63.65%, to close at $1.85 per share on May 3, 2022.
For more information on the Spero class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SPRO
LMP Automotive Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMPX)
Class Period: June 29, 2021 – May 19, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 26, 2022
On November 16, 2021, after the market closed, LMP filed a notification of inability to timely file its quarterly report for third quarter 2021. It also identified several material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, including that “[t]he Company did not maintain a formalized set of accounting policies” and “[t]he Company did not maintain effective controls over the review and approval of journal entries, account reconciliations, review of significant accounts and disclosures, and adequate documentation of management assumptions, estimates and judgments.”
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $0.74, or 5.5%, to close at $12.66 per share on November 17, 2021.
Then, on March 31, 2022, LMP revealed that it could not timely file its fiscal 2021 annual report “primarily [as] a result of its ongoing evaluation of (i) the proper identification and elimination of intercompany transactions, (ii) estimates of chargeback reserves for finance and insurance products and (iii) various financial presentation matters related to the Company’s business, including as it relates to the presentation, characterization and amounts of such items in prior fiscal quarters.”
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $0.19, or 3.8%, to close at $4.81 per share on April 1, 2022.
Then, on May 17, 2022, after the market closed, LMP disclosed that it could not timely file its Q1 2021 quarterly report due to the previously announced ongoing evaluation. LMP further disclosed that due to errors in the Company’s quarterly reports during fiscal year 2021, such reports “will likely need to be restated.” The Company also disclosed that these errors may impact “certain previously disclosed material weaknesses in the registrant’s controls over financial reporting.”
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $0.07 per share, or 1.5%, to close at $4.60 per share on May 18, 2022.
Then, on May 19, 2022, after the market closed, LMP revealed that it would restate the financial statements for quarterly periods in fiscal 2021 “primarily due to the following errors: (i) the improper identification and elimination of intercompany transactions, (ii) incorrect estimates of chargeback reserves for finance and insurance products, and (iii) certain financial statement misclassifications impacting various balance sheet and income statement financial statement captions in the Relevant Periods.” These results caused a decrease in total revenues up to $15 million for third quarter 2021, up to $8 million for second quarter 2021, and up to $1 million for first quarter 2021. As a result, the Company stated that “material weaknesses exist in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.”
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $0.20 per share, or 4.4%, to close at $4.26 per share on May 20, 2022.
The complaint filed in this class action alleges that 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, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company engaged in the improper identification and elimination of intercompany transactions; (2) that the Company used incorrect estimates for chargeback reserves for finance and insurance products; (3) that the Company had misclassified certain items in its financial statements which impacted balance sheet and income statement financial statement captions; (4) that there were material weaknesses in LMP’s internal control over financial reporting; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company overstated its revenue; (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company would restate certain of its previously issued financial statements and results; and (7) 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.
For more information on the LMP class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/LMPX
Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY)
Class Period: June 9, 2021 – May 9, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 1, 2022
Dentsply is a dental equipment manufacturer with offices across the United States. Dentsply produces a wide array of dental supplies, ranging from anesthetics, plaque and gum disease prevention, tooth polishers, and artificial teeth. The Company distributes approximately two-thirds of its dental consumable technology and equipment products through third-party distributors.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants orchestrated a scheme to inflate the Company’s revenue and earnings by manipulating its accounting for a distributor rebate program in order for senior executives to be eligible for significant cash and stock-based incentive compensation. In order to facilitate this scheme, Dentsply and its executives made numerous false and misleading statements to investors during the Class Period. As a result of Defendants’ misrepresentations, Dentsply’s common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
The truth about Dentsply’s misconduct was revealed through a series of disclosures, beginning on April 19, 2022, when Dentsply announced the sudden termination of its CEO Don Casey. Then, on May 10, 2022, Dentsply announced that, following reports from several whistleblowers, the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors had commenced an internal investigation regarding certain financial reporting matters. Specifically, Dentsply disclosed that the Audit Committee was investigating “the Company’s use of incentives to sell products to distributors in the third and fourth quarter of 2021” and “whether those incentives were appropriately accounted for.” Further, the Audit Committee was also investigating allegations that “certain former and current members of senior management directed the Company’s use of these incentives and other actions to achieve executive compensation targets in 2021.” As a result of these disclosures, Dentsply’s share price declined precipitously.
For more information on the Dentsply Sirona class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/XRAY
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
