NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in AxoGen, Inc. (“AxoGen” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AXGN ) of the March 11, 2019 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.
If you invested in AxoGen stock or options: a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s November 2017 secondary public offering (“2017 SPO”); and/or b) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s May 2018 secondary public offering (“2018 SPO”); and/or c) between August 7, 2017 and December 18, 2018 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/AXGN . There is no cost or obligation to you.
You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to rgonnello@faruqilaw.com.
CONTACT: FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP 685 Third Avenue, 26 th Floor New York, NY 10017 Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq. rgonnello@faruqilaw.com Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330
The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of all those who purchased AxoGen securities: a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s November 2017 SPO; and/or b) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s May 2018 SPO; and/or c) between August 7, 2017 and December 18, 2018 (the “Class Period”). The case, Einhorn v. AxoGen, Inc. et al, No. 19-cv-00069 was filed on January 9, 2019, and has been assigned to Elizabeth A. Kovachevich.
The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose: (1) that the Company aggressively increased prices to mask lower sales; (2) that the Company’s pricing alienated customers and threatened the Company’s future growth; (3) that ambulatory surgery centers form a significant part of the market for the Company’s products; (4) that such centers were especially sensitive to price increases; (5) that the Company was dependent on a small number of surgeons whom the Company paid to generate sales; (6) that the Company’s consignment model for inventory was reasonably likely to lead to channel stuffing; (7) that the Company offered purchase incentives to sales representatives to encourage channel stuffing; (8) that the Company’s sales representatives were encouraged to backdate revenue to artificially inflate metrics; (9) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls to prevent such channel stuffing and backdating of revenue; (10) that the Company’s key operating metrics, such as number of active accounts, were overstated; and (11) 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.
Specifically, on December 18, 2018, Seligman Investments published a report stating, among other things, that AxoGen former employees alleged channel stuffing and backdating of revenue, that the number of active accounts may be overstated by a factor of ten, that “new customer acquisition is falling,” that its “growth has driven by unsustainable, aggressive price increases,” that the payments to physicians relative to revenue creates “elevated risks relating to pay-to-play and anti-kickback laws.”
On this news, the Company's stock price fell from $27.53 per share on December 17, 2018 to $21.36 per share on December 18, 2018—a $6.17 or 22.42% drop.
The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding AxoGen’s conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.
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