NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against certain officers of Aurora Cannibas, Inc. (“Aurora” or the “Company”) (NYSE: ACB). The class action, filed in United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and docketed under 20-cv-13819, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise, acquired Aurora securities between February 13, 2020, and September 4, 2020, both dates 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, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Aurora securities during the class period, you have until December 1, 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 newaction@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]
Aurora is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. The Company produces and distributes medical cannabis products worldwide. It is vertically integrated and horizontally diversified across various segments of the cannabis value chain, including facility engineering and design, cannabis breeding, genetics research, production, derivatives, high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale, and retail distribution.
In 2018, the Canadian government approved the Cannabis Act, which legalized and regulated the use of recreational cannabis. In response to the statute’s approval and the corresponding surge of the recreational cannabis industry, Aurora completed a series of acquisitions to expand the Company’s presence and increase its distribution, including the Company’s all-share purchase of the Canadian medical cannabis producer MedReleaf for a total consideration of 3.2 billion Canadian dollars. Like many other companies in the cannabis industry, however, the Company encountered a variety of difficulties as the industry surged, including, inter alia, overproduction, regulatory delays, and competition from the black market.
On February 6, 2020, shortly before the start of the Class Period, Aurora issued a press release announcing, inter alia, a “business transformation plan,” to “better align the business financially with the current realities of the cannabis market in Canada while maintaining a sustainable platform for long-term growth.” Specifically, the press release touted that the plan was “expected to include significant and immediate decreases in selling, general & administrative (“SG&A”) expenses and capital investment plans.”
The complaint alleges that thought the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading because they misrepresented and failed to disclose the following adverse facts pertaining to the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, which were known to Defendants or recklessly disregarded by them. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Aurora had significantly overpaid for previous acquisitions and experienced degradation in certain assets, including its production facilities and inventory; (ii) the Company’s purported “business transformation plan” and cost reset failed to mitigate the foregoing issues; (iii) accordingly, it was foreseeable that the Company would record significant goodwill and asset impairment charges; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On September 8, 2020, Aurora issued a press release “announc[ing] an update on its business operations along with certain unaudited preliminary fiscal fourth-quarter 2020 results.” Among other things, Aurora announced that the Company expected to record up to $1.8 billion in goodwill impairment charges in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Company also announced that “previously announced fixed asset impairment charges[ were] now expected to be up to $90 million, due to production facility rationalization, and a charge of approximately $140 million in the carrying value of certain inventory, predominantly trim, in order to align inventory on hand with near term expectations for demand.”
On this news, Aurora’s stock price fell $0.99 per share, or 11.63%, to close at $7.52 per share on September 8, 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
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
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