Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel Commences Investigation of Companies for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws

MERION, Pa., March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel (www.henzellaw.com), a firm focusing on shareholder litigation, gives notice to shareholders of investigation into the following securities for violations of the Federal Securities Laws:

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) 5/5/15 thru 3/7/16

On March 7, 2016, the Company disclosed that its Audit Committee had advised the Company's Board of Directors that it did not expect to finalize its review of potential accounting issues before March 15, 2016. The Company also disclosed that, as a result, "the Company is not in a position to file its Form 10-K until after the Audit Committee completes its review and the Company's independent public accountants assess the conclusions of the Audit Committee in connection with their audit of the Company's annual financial statements included in the Form 10-K." The Company also stated that it did not expect to make further comment regarding the Audit Committee's review until its conclusion. Finally, in a press release issued the same day, the Company announced that, "out of an abundance of caution," it was suspending the Company's previously announced share repurchase program.

On this news, the price of comScore stock fell $13.67 per share, or 33.5%, to close at $27.04 per share on March 7, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Horizon Pharma plc (Nasdaq: HZNP) 3/13/14 thru 2/26/16

On February 29, 2016, Horizon disclosed in its 2015 annual report that the Company had received a subpoena in November 2015 from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The annual report stated that "[d]espite our compliance efforts, to the extent the HorizonCares [previously the PME] program is found to be inconsistent with applicable laws or the pharmacies that participate in our patient access programs do not comply with applicable laws, we may be required to restructure or discontinue such programs, terminate our relationship with certain pharmacies, or be subject to other significant penalties. In November 2015, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office . . . requesting documents and information related to our patient assistance programs and other aspects of our marketing and commercialization activities." The annual report continued: "If we are unable to successfully implement our commercial plans and facilitate adoption by patients and physicians of any approved medicines through our sales, marketing and commercialization efforts then we will not be able to generate sustainable revenues form medicine sales which will have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects." On this news, the price of Horizon stock fell $2.63 per share, or 13.3%, to close at $17.16 per share on February 29, 2016

Match Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTCH) IPO of November 20, 2015

On November 20, 2015, in connection with its IPO, Match Group filed with the SEC a final prospectus (the "Prospectus") on Form 424B4 dated November 18, 2015. The Prospectus was part of a registration statement, filed on Form S-1/A with the SEC on November 17, 2015, and declared effective by the SEC on November 17, 2015 (the "Registration Statement").

On February 2, 2016, Match Group revealed to investors a decline in total user growth and per-user revenue, and the cannibalization of users and revenues across competing platforms. They also revealed that the Company's net income has consistently fallen and that there had been a decline in revenue in their Princeton Review segment.

Shares of Match Group fell from a close of $12.79 prior to the announcement, to a recent close of just $9.76 on February 4, 2016.

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) 8/21/14 thru 11/19/15

On November 19, 2015, Mentor Graphics announced disappointing financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and substantially reduced its fourth quarter fiscal 2016 financial outlook, lowering its fourth quarter revenue forecast by $104 million. In addition, the Company stated that bookings for the three months ended October 31, 2015 had decreased by approximately 20% compared to the three months ended October 31, 2014, primarily due to a decrease in term license contract renewals. On this news, the price of Mentor Graphics stock fell 36%, closing at $17.85 per share, down from the previous day's close of $27.78 per share, on high trading volume.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) 12/8/15 thru 2/11/16

On December 10, 2015, LPL announced the early completion of its accelerated share repurchase program. TPG sold 4.3 million shares of LPL common stock at $43.27 per share for approximately $187 million in proceeds.

On February 11, 2016, LPL announced its fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial results, including adjusted earnings per share of $0.37 per share, well below consensus analyst estimates of $0.51 per share. The Company also revealed disappointing revenues, primarily as a result of dramatically lower commission revenues and revenues from alternative investments, as well as higher-than-expected expenses for the quarter. As a result of this news, the price of LPL common stock dropped $8.76 per share to close at $16.50 per share on February 12, 2016, a one-day decline of nearly 35% and a decline of 63% from the stock's Class Period high.

Apollo Education Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL) 6/26/13 thru 10/21/15

On January 8, 2015, Apollo announced that its conversion to the new online platform was more challenging than had been anticipated and had resulted in a greater than expected impact on retention. Due to other more positive statements made that day concerning the strong ongoing enrollment and profitability trends being experienced, the price of Apollo stock declined only moderately. However, when on March 25, 2015 Apollo disclosed that it had actually experienced a significant disruption with respect to the new online classroom platform that was not only adversely impacting retention but had decreased enrollment by 13% in the quarter, forcing Apollo to cut its annual revenue forecast, the stock price declined significantly.

Then, on June 30, 2015, the Center for Investigative Reporting ("CIR") published an exposé entitled "University of Phoenix sidesteps Obama order on recruiting veterans." In its exposé, CIR detailed how the University of Phoenix was violating President Obama's Executive Order, as well as the contractual agreements the University of Phoenix had entered into with the DoD, through a variety of improperly aggressive recruiting tactics. That same day U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter bringing the matters raised in the CIR exposé to his attention and calling for the military to investigate and put an end to the illicit recruiting tactics.

When the DoD formally placed the University of Phoenix on probation on October 7, 2015, and banned it from recruiting on military bases and prevented troops from using federal funds for its classes, the price of Apollo common stock plunged further. And when Apollo disclosed on October 22, 2015 that its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015 results had been negatively impacted and that its future results would continue to be negatively impacted by actions the Company had been forced to take to bring its operations into compliance with the law, the price of the common stock fell further. In the end, the shares declined approximately 80% from their Class Period high – or nearly $29 per share – erasing more than $3 billion in market capitalization.

magicJack Vocaltec Ltd. (Nasdaq: CALL) 11/12/13 thru 3/12/14

On March 12, 2014, after the market closed, the Company announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013, reporting, among other things, adjusted EBITDA that was higher than the previously stated expected range. As a result of this news, defendants' earlier misrepresentations and fraudulent conduct became apparent, and the price of magicJack shares dramatically increased, reaching close to $25 per share, as the artificial depression was removed from the share price.

NantKwest, Inc. (Nasdaq: NK) 9/10/15 thru 3/10/16

The firm is investigating potential violations of the federal securities laws by NantKwest, Inc. (Nasdaq: NK).

On March 11, 2016, NantKwest announced that the Company's interim financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2015 and September 30, 2015 should no longer be relied upon due, in part, to the combined effect of financial statement errors primarily attributable to certain stock-based awards to defendant Soon-Shiong and build-to-suit lease accounting related to one of its research and development and GMP facilities. 

On this news, NantKwest stock fell $0.28, or 3.31%, to close at $8.17 on March 11, 2016.

If you would like to learn more about the investigation of these companies, would like to learn more about any potential claims or you wish to discuss these matters and have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights, please contact Marc S. Henzel (610) 660-8000, email at [email protected], or to sign up online, visit the firm's website at www.henzellaw.com. 

The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel is a national shareholder litigation firm representing shareholders & investors in various areas of securities laws including but not limited to: class actions, derivatives, transactional (buyouts/takeovers/mergers) and FINRA & NYSE Arbitrations.

Contact:
Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel
Marc S. Henzel
Email: [email protected]
Phone 610-660-8000
Website: www.henzellaw.com

LAW OFFICES OF MARC S. HENZEL
MERION STATION, PA 19066

SOURCE Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel

Related Links

http://www.henzellaw.com