Pomerantz LLP Appointed Co-Lead Counsel in Unilife Corporation Securities Litigation
On August 25, 2016, Pomerantz LLP was appointed Co Lead Counsel in a class action against Unilife Corporation ("Unilife" or the "Company") and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 16-cv-03986, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Unilife securities between February 3, 2014 and May 23, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Unilife is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of innovative injectable drug delivery systems that can purportedly enhance and differentiate the injectable drugs, biologics and vaccines, or collectively, injectable therapies, of the Company's pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers.
The complaint 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) the Company's former Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and former Chairman of the Board of Directors had violated the Company's policies and procedures and had engaged in violations of law and regulation; (ii) the Company lacked adequate internal controls over accounting and financial reporting; (iii) as a result, the Company would be unable to file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2016 by the prescribed filing deadline; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements, as well as Defendants' statements about Unilife's business, operations, and prospects, were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
On May 8, 2016, the Company disclosed to investors that it was postponing its earnings conference call, originally scheduled forMay 9, 2016 due to the discovery of violations of Company policies and procedures and possible violations of law and regulation by the Company's "former Chief Executive Officer" and by the "former Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors who resigned in 2015." The Company also announced that it was investigating the issues' potential impact on financial reporting and internal controls over financial reporting, related to the Company's previously-issued financial statements, current interim financial information, and management's certifications. Finally, the Company disclosed that it expected to delay filing its quarterly Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2016.
On this news, Unilife's stock price fell $1.50 per share, or more than 29%, to close at $3.60 per share on May 9, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume.
On May 11, 2016, after the market closed, Unilife filed a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 with the SEC. Therein, the Company disclosed that Unilife's current management team discovered violations of the registrant's policies and procedures and possible violations of law and regulation by the registrant's former Chief Executive Officer and by the former Chairman of the registrant's Board of Directors who resigned in 2015. The Company also announced that it was investigating the violations' potential impact on financial reporting and internal controls over financial reporting, related to previously-issued financial statements, current interim financial information, and management's certifications. Finally, the Company disclosed that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company was unable to file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2016 by the prescribed filing deadline.
On this news, Unilife's stock price fell $0.30 per share, or 8.1%, to close at $3.40 per share on May 12, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume. The stock price continued to decline, falling another $0.28 per share, or 9.1%, to close at $3.12 per share on May 13, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume.
On May 23, 2016, after the market closed, the Company disclosed that it received a letter from The NADSAQ Stock Market LLC notifying the Company that it was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because it had not filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2016 in a timely manner with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On this news, Unilife's stock price fell $0.31 per share, or more than 10%, to close at $2.64 per share on May 24, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Unilife Corporation Securities Litigation.