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Mealey's Securities

  • July 18, 2025

    Hims Shareholder Files Derivative Complaint Over Compounded Semaglutide

    SAN FRANCISCO — A shareholder of Hims & Hers Health Inc. on July 17 filed a stockholder derivative action in a California federal court on behalf of the company, accusing the company’s board of directors and executives of misleading the shareholders about a collaboration with Novo Nordisk Inc. that would allow Hims to sell compounded semaglutide products.

  • July 18, 2025

    9th Circuit Reverses District’s Ruling In Securities Case Against Software Company

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed the decision of a district court dismissing a class action brought against a software company and certain current and former senior executives by shareholders that allege that the defendants misled investors regarding certain acquisitions the company made, finding that the shareholders had adequately alleged scienter and falsity and remanding the case for further proceedings.

  • July 17, 2025

    Judge: Pharmaceutical Company Didn’t Violate Kickback Statute, Mislead Investors

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the maker of prescription drug Humira and the company’s then chief executives in a case in which shareholders allege that they violated federal securities laws by misleading investors by concealing that two marketing programs were in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, which, when revealed, caused the company’s stock to drop; the judge found that the subject programs did not violate the statute and that even if they did, the shareholders couldn’t prove that the defendants concealed the information about the potential anti-kickback violations with  purposeful or reckless intent to deceive.

  • July 16, 2025

    Rehearing Of 2nd Circuit Decision Sought In Suit To Void Stock Purchase Agreement

    NEW YORK — An aerospace company filed a petition for rehearing en banc and panel hearing in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of its case seeking to void a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with a hedge fund because the hedge fund violated federal securities laws by not registering as a dealer; a Second Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of the case, finding that under the terms of the agreement, the hedge fund did not have to be a registered dealer.

  • July 16, 2025

    Tech Company Waives Response To Latest High Court Petition In Direct Listing Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A technology company on July 15 waived its right to respond to a shareholder’s petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether, under federal securities laws, a plaintiff must prove he bought shares registered in an offering for which the company issued false and misleading statements in order to bring a direct listings suit against the company.

  • July 16, 2025

    U.S., Former Execs Brief 2nd Circuit Cross-Appeals In Securities Fraud Case

    NEW YORK — Wrapping up briefing in consolidated cross-appeals in a securities fraud case, the federal government urged the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse certain judgments in the long-running litigation and order resentencing for all three former hedge fund executives whom federal juries convicted in connection with the so-called “Black Elk” scheme that involved reinsurers.

  • July 11, 2025

    Judge Finds Securities Claims Against Medical Technology Company Lack Scienter

    TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey dismissed a putative securities class action brought by pension funds against a medical device and technology company for alleged misstatements regarding efforts to address deficient manufacturing conditions at the company’s Boston facility, finding the pension funds did not plead “a strong inference of scienter.”

  • July 10, 2025

    Judge Approves $13M Settlement In Vehicle Marketplace Stock Drop Class Action

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York gave final approval to a $13 million settlement between shareholders and the officers and the trustee of a consignment-to-retail used vehicle marketplace and its parent company in a class action that alleged the company and its officers misrepresented the company’s business model in violation of federal securities laws.

  • July 09, 2025

    Settlement Of Derivative Complaint Against Peloton Over Safety Approved

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal magistrate judge in New York gave final approval to a settlement of a consolidated shareholder derivative action brought against current and former Peloton Interactive Inc. officers and directors that requires Peloton to make corporate governance enhancements regarding product safety.

  • July 03, 2025

    D.C. Circuit Affirms That SEC’s Proxy Voting Rule Changes Exceeded Authority

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal judge’s ruling that the Securities and Exchange Commission acted in excess of its authority when it issued rule changes redefining proxy voting advice as a type of “solicitation,” finding that the SEC’s efforts to expand the definition “cannot be reconciled with the statutory text.”

  • July 03, 2025

    Judge Finds SEC Amendments To Corporate Proxy Statement Rule Didn’t Violate APA

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for summary judgment and denied shareholder advocates’ motion for summary judgment in a case brought by the shareholder advocates alleging that recent final amendments to SEC Rule 14a-8 violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), finding that the SEC provided satisfactory justification under the APA for its amendments.

  • July 02, 2025

    Insurers Fail To Plead Scienter In Securities Fraud Case Against Tech Company

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted a motion by a digital advertising and services technology company and certain directors and officers to dismiss a securities fraud class action alleging the company committed securities fraud when making material misrepresentations regarding its search advertising business that led the company’s stock price to drop, finding the investors didn’t plead actionable misstatements or facts supporting a strong inference of scienter.

  • July 01, 2025

    U.S. High Court Won’t Review Ruling On Precluding Relitigation Of SOX Issues

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former Tesla Inc. worker who asked the justices to consider whether an arbitration award may preclude relitigation of issues underlying a Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) claim.

  • June 30, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Hedge Fund Didn’t Need To Register As Dealer To Enter Agreement

    NEW YORK — A panel of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a case brought by an aerospace company that sought to void a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with a hedge fund because the hedge fund violated federal securities laws by not registering as a dealer, determining that under the terms of the SPA, the hedge fund did not have to be a registered dealer.

  • June 30, 2025

    High Court Denies Crypto Companies’ Venue, Nationwide Service Provision Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 denied two crypto companies’ petition for a writ of certiorari for a suit brought against them by an investor alleging that they conspired to deflate the value of a crypto asset, which asked the court to determine whether the paired venue and nationwide service provisions of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) should be interpreted independently or as a whole.

  • June 30, 2025

    Judge Denies SEC’s Renewed Motion to Lift Injunction Against Crypto Asset Firm

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York denied the Securities and Exchange Commission’s renewed request that the judge dissolve an injunction against crypto asset firm Ripple Labs Inc. and order that all but $50 million of the $125 million civil penalty Ripple was ordered to pay to the SEC be returned to the company, finding that the parties had not shown the exceptional circumstances necessary for their agreement to “outweigh the public interest or the administration of justice.”

  • June 30, 2025

    $38M Settlement In Securities Case Tied To Roundup Litigation Gets Initial OK

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on June 27 granted preliminary approval to a $38 million proposed settlement in a securities fraud class action against Bayer AG, the parent company of Monsanto Co., related to statements it made about Monsanto’s science-based trial defenses in Roundup litigation. The judge said the court will likely be able to finally approve the settlement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2) as being “fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class.”

  • June 30, 2025

    Supreme Court Agrees To Hear ICA Private Right Of Action Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 granted certiorari to a petition filed by closed-end funds (CEFs) regarding whether a section of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (ICA) includes a private right of action.

  • June 26, 2025

    Shareholder Sues Hims After Partnership That Allowed Compounded Semaglutide Ends

    SAN FRANCISCO — Hims & Hers Health Inc., a telehealth company that touted a collaboration with Novo Nordisk Inc. that would allow it to sell compounded semaglutide products, was hit with a securities fraud class action on June 25 by a shareholder who alleges that the stock value plummeted when Novo Nordisk ended the partnership.

  • June 25, 2025

    Final Approval Given To Settlement Between Investors, Startup Over Stock Drop

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California gave final approval to a $7.25 million settlement between an electric vehicle startup, its predecessor and its CEO and investors who alleged that the companies provided false or misleading statements regarding a reverse merger that led the startup’s stock price to be artificially inflated.

  • June 19, 2025

    3rd Circuit: Fraud Claims Against Custodian, Financial Adviser Are Time-Barred

    PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a securities fraud case brought by the winning bidder at the forced sale of a company that provides language services against the company’s custodian and financial adviser for allegedly misleading statements, finding the bidder’s claims are time-barred.

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Approves $10.5 Million Settlement Of Biopharmaceutical Stock Drop Suit

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California granted final approval to a $10.5 million settlement in a case brought by shareholders against a biopharmaceutical company and certain executives alleging that misstatements they made about the company’s manufacturing possibilities and approval prospects for its lead product candidate unlawfully inflated the company’s stock price, which dropped after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the company’s license application for the product candidate.

  • June 17, 2025

    SEC Renews Motion To Lift Injunction Against Crypto Asset Firm

    NEW YORK — The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a renewed request that a federal judge in New York dissolve an injunction against crypto asset firm Ripple Labs Inc. and order that all but $50 million of the $125 million civil penalty Ripple was ordered to pay to the SEC be returned to the company, arguing that exceptional circumstances warrant a modification of the final judgment.

  • June 11, 2025

    Crypto Companies Say Split On Venue, Nationwide Service Provision Needs Addressed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a reply brief in support of two cryptocurrency companies’ petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court for a suit brought against them by an investor alleging that they conspired to deflate the value of a crypto asset, the companies argue that the case is “an ideal vehicle” to determine whether the paired venue and nationwide service provisions of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) should be interpreted independently or as a whole, and note that the investor acknowledges the decades-long split among the federal circuit courts on this issue.

  • June 11, 2025

    9th Circuit Won’t Rehear Pension Fund’s Securities Case Against Gaming Company

    PASADENA, Calif. — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a pension fund’s petition for rehearing en banc of the  panel’s affirmation of dismissal of the fund’s class action alleging that a gaming company it invested in falsely inflated its share prices after finding that the fund needed to plead loss causation as part of its stock scheme claims.