Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a prominent shareholder rights law firm, has recently announced the initiation of class actions on behalf of investors in Exscientia plc. (NASDAQ: EXAI) and Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRO). The law firm is reminding stockholders to take necessary action before the specified deadlines to serve as lead plaintiff in these cases.
Exscientia plc. is an AI-driven pharmaceutical technology company that focuses on developing innovative medicines to address unmet patient needs. Bragar Eagel & Squire alleges that throughout the class period (March 23, 2022, to February 12, 2024), the company’s executives, including the former CEO Andrew Hopkins, and former Board Chairman David Nicholson, made false and misleading statements about the company’s business and operations. Specifically, the complaint states that Hopkins engaged in inappropriate relationships with employees, which Nicholson was aware of but failed to disclose to the Board. These actions and failures, according to the complaint, increased the risk of reputational harm and leadership disruptions for the company. As a result of these allegations, Exscientia’s stock price fell significantly on February 13, 2024.
Akero Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is also facing a class action lawsuit. The complaint alleges that Akero made false and misleading statements throughout the class period (September 13, 2022, to October 9, 2023) regarding the evaluation of its lead product candidate, efruxifermin (EFX), for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a serious liver disease. The lawsuit claims that Akero failed to disclose important information about the patients enrolled in the clinical trials, including the fact that a significant proportion of them did not have definitive NASH at baseline and that the study design introduced confounding factors. These alleged misrepresentations about the nature of the study and the likelihood of success caused substantial losses for investors when the study’s results were finally disclosed on October 10, 2023.
Bragar Eagel & Squire is a nationally recognized law firm with a strong track record of representing individual and institutional investors in complex litigation. Investors who are interested in learning more about these class actions or participating as lead plaintiffs can find additional information at the provided link.
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and does not guarantee any particular legal outcome.
In addition to the information provided in the article, there are several current market trends and forecasts relevant to shareholder rights law firm class actions. Shareholder activism and litigation have been on the rise in recent years, as investors become more aware of their rights and seek to hold corporate executives accountable for any wrongdoing. This trend is likely to continue as shareholders demand greater transparency and accountability from companies.
One key challenge associated with shareholder rights law firm class actions is the high burden of proof required to succeed in these cases. Shareholders must demonstrate that the company or its executives engaged in fraudulent or misleading behavior that caused them financial harm. Meeting this burden can be difficult, as it often requires significant resources, expertise, and access to internal company documents.
Another controversy associated with class actions is the perception that they can be abused as a means for lawyers to profit rather than for the benefit of shareholders. Critics argue that some law firms initiate class actions primarily to generate fees for themselves, rather than to recover losses for shareholders. This controversy has led to calls for stricter regulations and oversight of shareholder rights law firms.
Overall, shareholder rights law firm class actions provide an important mechanism for investors to seek redress for any harm caused by fraudulent or misleading behavior by companies or their executives. However, they also face challenges in terms of burden of proof and controversies surrounding their execution.
For more information on shareholder rights law firm class actions and related topics, you can visit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website at SEC and the National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys (NASAA) website at NASAA.