NEW YORK, Oct. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against STAAR Surgical Company (“STAAR” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: STAA) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division, and docketed under 20-cv-01660, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired STAAR Surgical Company securities between February 26, 2020, and August 10, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5.
If you are a shareholder who purchased STAAR securities during the class period, you have until October 19, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
STARR designs, develops, manufactures, and sells implantable lenses for the eye and companion delivery systems used to deliver the lenses into the eye. STAAR’s primary products are: (1) “implantable Collamer® lenses,” or “ICLs,” used in refractive surgery; and (2) intraocular lenses, or “IOLs,” used in cataract surgery.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts to investors. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose to investors that the Company was overstating and/or mischaracterizing: (1) its sales and growth in China; (2) its marketing spend; (3) its research and development expenses; and that as a result of the foregoing, (4) Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On August 5, 2020, after the markets closed, STAAR reported disappointing financial results, as detailed below. On this news, shares of STAAR common stock fell approximately 10%, down from the August 5, 2020 closing price of $61.81 to an August 6, 2020 close of $55.86.
On August 11, 2020, analyst J Capital Research published a report in which it wrote that “[w]e think that STAAR Surgical has overstated sales in China by at least one-third, or $21.6 mln. That would mean that all of the company’s $14 mln in 2019 profit is fake.” The report continued that “[f]ake sales [in China] come at 100% margins and therefore translate directly into profit. That means that the roughly $21.6 mln in overstated Chinese sales in 2019 represents 152% of total company profit. In other words, without the fraud that we believe pervades the China business, STAAR is losing money.”
J Capital Research stated in reaching its conclusions, it “conduct[ed] over 75 interviews, visited company sites in China and Switzerland, and reviewed financial statements and other government documents for STAAR’s distributors and customers in China. We will show that sales of STAAR’s ICLs are dramatically overstated.”
On this news, the stock continued its descent, closing at just $48.25 per share on August 11, 2020.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
