SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman urges STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) investors to contact the firm now. A securities fraud class action has been filed and certain investors may have valuable claims.
Class Period: Feb. 26, 2020 – Aug. 10, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Oct. 19, 2020
Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/STAA
Contact An Attorney Now: [email protected]
844-916-0895
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) Securities Class Action
According to the complaint, STAAR and senior management repeatedly overstated and/or mischaracterized (1) the company's sales and growth in China, (2) its marketing spend, and (3) its research and development expenditures.
Investors began to learn the truth, according to the complaint, after the markets closed on Aug. 5, 2020, when STAAR reported disappointing Q2 2020 sales and a net loss versus net income for the prior year second quarter. In addition, the company revealed its massive- and growing- exposure to a single distributor in China who accounted for 53% of Q2 2020 net sales versus 49% for the year-earlier quarter, and who accounted for 57% of trade receivables versus 43% for Q1 2020.
Then, on Aug. 11, 2020, research firm J Capital published a scathing report calling STAAR's China success story into serious question. More specifically, J Capital accused the company of overstating its sales in China by at least one-third (or $21.6 mln), "meaning all of the company's $14 mln in 2019 profit is fake." The report – based on over 75 interviews with former employees, site visits to China and Switzerland, and extensive review of public documents – concludes STAAR reports fake sales revenues by overstating sales and then marking up actual marketing costs to hide "phantom" revenue. J Capital also found STAAR's largest China client bought only about half the lenses STAAR reported.
These events caused the price of STAAR shares to sharply decline.
"We're focused on investors' losses and proving STAAR cooked its books by inflating its China sales," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.
If you are a STAAR investor, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding STAAR should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email mailto:[email protected].
About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.
Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895
SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
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