Did you lose money on investments in DENTSPLY SIRONA? If so, please visit DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.
NEW YORK, July 26, 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 Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (“Dentsply” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XRAY) between June 9, 2021 and May 9, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Dentsply produces a wide array of dental supplies, ranging from anesthetics, plaque and gum disease prevention, tooth polishers, and artificial teeth. The Company sells approximately two-thirds of its dental consumable and technology and equipment products through third-party distributors.
As (former) executives of Dentsply, Defendants Donald M. Casey, Jr. (“Casey”) and Jorge Gomez (“Gomez”) were eligible for significant cash- and stock-based incentive compensation. Indeed, up to 89% of their annual compensation was awarded based on the Company’s ability to meet certain milestones linked to Dentsply’s financial performance.
Given the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Dentsply bifurcated its Annual Incentive plans for executives into two six-month periods. The 2021 First Half Annual Incentive Plan and the 2021 Second Half Annual Incentive Plan each provided for potential incentive payments based on achievement of performance criteria during the first two and the last two quarters of 2021, respectively. The funding levels for each plan were wholly dependent on the Company’s financial performance for the applicable half of 2021.
For the first half of the year, Dentsply met the applicable financial performance targets, entitling top executives, including Casey and Gomez, to the maximum compensation under the 2021 First Half Annual Incentive Plan. However, to ensure that they received at least some of their awards under the 2021 Second Half Annual Incentive Plan, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants appear to have orchestrated a scheme to inflate the Company’s revenue and earnings by manipulating the way in which Dentsply recognized revenue tied to certain distributor rebate and incentive programs.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Dentsply touted its “go-to-market strategy” and “more sophisticated and strategic incentive plans” as drivers of the Company’s success. Dentsply also assured investors that it complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and maintained adequate internal controls over financial reporting, yet the Company announced revenues and earnings that were inflated by the improper recognition of revenue.
On April 11, 2022, Dentsply announced that Defendant Gomez had “resigned” as Chief Financial Officer, but assured investors that his departure was “not the result of any dispute or disagreement with the Company, the Company’s management or the Board of Directors of the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.”
The truth began to emerge on April 19, 2022, when Dentsply suddenly announced that its Board of Directors had terminated Defendant Casey, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately and with no succession plan in place. As a result of this disclosure, Dentsply shares declined by $6.52 per share, or 13%, from $48.72 per share to $42.20 per share.
Then, on May 10, 2022, Dentsply announced that, following reports from several internal whistleblowers, the Audit and Finance Committee of its Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) had commenced an 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 quarters of 2021” and “whether those incentives were appropriately accounted for” in the Company’s periodic reports with the SEC. The Company also disclosed that the Audit Committee is 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.” On this news, the Company’s stock declined over 7% to close at $36.38 per share on May 10, 2022.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 1, 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 XRAY common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit DENTSPLY SIRONA 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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2022 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Peter Allocco
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
pallocco@bernlieb.com
