NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. reminds investors that class action lawsuits have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of National General Holdings Corp. NGHC, Mallinckrodt Plc MNK, Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB OASM, and Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. ACRS. 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.
National General Holdings Corp. NGHC
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 23, 2019
Class Period: August 6, 2015 to September 9, 2017
The complaint, filed on July 25, 2019, alleges that during the Class Period defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding National General's business and operations. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose that National General, together with banking giant Wells Fargo, had engaged in a massive insurance scheme to bilk Wells Fargo customers out of millions of dollars. Through this scheme, National General forced thousands of customers to pay for auto insurance – commonly known as Collateral Protection Insurance ("CPI") – that they did not need or want. National General served as Wells Fargo's CPI vendor for all aspects of the program from July 2015 until the program was discreetly terminated in September 2016. Defendants possessed information showing that these customers already had their own insurance, but forced them to be subject to redundant, unnecessary, and overly expensive CPI policies anyway. In addition, while defendants were concealing their participation in the fraudulent CPI scheme from investors, they were reporting revenues and earnings results that had been artificially inflated by the illegitimate proceeds from the scheme. As a result of this information being withheld from the market, National General common stock traded at artificially inflated prices of more than $25 per share during the Class Period.
Then, on July 27, 2017, The New York Times published an article that revealed for the first time the CPI forced-placed insurance scheme. The article cited an internal report commissioned by Wells Fargo's executives, which reportedly stated that more than 800,000 auto loan customers, including active military personnel, had paid for unnecessary CPI, pushing nearly 274,000 of them into delinquency and resulting in more than 20,000 unlawful vehicle repossessions. In the days that followed, attention increasingly turned to National General and its role in the scheme. The Company faced numerous regulatory investigations, congressional scrutiny, and civil lawsuits that caused a decline in the price of National General shares. Between July 26, 2017, before the story broke, and August 10, 2017, after the launch of a congressional inquiry into the scandal, the price of National General common stock fell more than 15%.
To learn more about the National General class action go to: https://bespc.com/NGHC.
Mallinckrodt Plc MNK
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 24, 2019
Class Period: February 28, 2018 to July 16, 2019
The complaint, filed on July 26, 2019, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Acthar posed significant safety concerns that rendered it a non-viable treatment for ALS; (ii) accordingly, Mallinckrodt overstated the viability of Acthar as an ALS treatment; and (iii) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 16, 2019, post-market, Mallinckrodt announced that the Company was permanently discontinuing the PENNANT Trial assessing Acthar's safety and efficacy as an ALS treatment. Mallinckrodt stated that it decided "to halt the trial after careful consideration of a recent recommendation by the study's independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board" ("DSMB"), which "was based on the specific concern for pneumonia, which occurred at a higher rate in the ALS patients receiving Acthar Gel compared to those on placebo" and that "the board also mentioned other adverse events specific to this patient population." On this news, Mallinckrodt's stock price fell $0.64 per share, or 7.8%, to close at $7.56 per share on July 17, 2019.
For more information on the Mallinckrodt class action go to: https://bespc.com/MNK-2
Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB OASM
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 27, 2019
Class Period: October 23, 2015 to July 9, 2019
According to the complaint, on June 28, 2019, Oasmia issued a press release that stated it was reporting suspicious transactions made between Oasmia and related partners Alceco and Ardenia to the Swedish Economic Crime Authority and appointing a special examiner to review them. On this news, shares of Oasmia fell $0.319 per share, or almost 24%, to close at $1.021 per share on June 28, 2019, damaging investors.
On July 9, 2019, after the close of the market, Oasmia issued another press release that stated it had ended its relationship with former executive chairmen Julian Aleksov because of the transactions mentioned in the Company's June 28, 2019 press release. On this news, shares of Oasmia fell $0.34, or over 13%, to close at $2.26 per share on July 10, 2019, further damaging investors. As a result of defendants' wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company's common shares, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
For more information on the Oasmia class action go to: https://bespc.com/OASM
Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. ACRS
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 30, 2019
Class Period: May 8, 2018 to June 29, 2019
On June 20, 2019, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") stated that an advertisement for Aclaris's hydrogen peroxide topical solution, Eskata, "makes false or misleading claims" regarding the product's risk and efficacy. Specifically, "a direct-to-consumer video of an interview featuring a paid Aclaris spokesperson" was "especially concerning from a public health perspective because it fails to include information regarding the serious risks associated with Eskata, which bears warnings and precautions related to the risks of serious eye disorders . . . in the case of exposure to the eye and severe skin reactions including scarring."
On this news, Aclaris's stock price fell $0.57, or over 11%, over the next two trading sessions to close at $4.54 on June 21, 2019.
The complaint, filed on July 30, 2019, 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's advertising materials minimized the risks and overstated the efficacy of ESKATA to generate sales; (2) that, as a result, the Company was reasonably likely to face regulatory scrutiny; and (3) 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 Aclaris class action go to: https://bespc.com/ACRS
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a New York-based law firm concentrating in commercial and securities litigation. For additional information about Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. please go to www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contacts
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
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