| Court: | United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida |
| Case Number: | 1:18-cv-23786-JEM |
| Class Period: | 09/26/2013 - 09/07/2018 |
| Case Leader: | John Rizio-Hamilton |
| Case Team: | Jai K. Chandrasekhar |
Securities fraud class action filed on behalf of a class of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired OPKO Health Inc. (“OPKO”) common stock from September 26, 2013 to September 7, 2018, inclusive, and were damaged thereby (the "Class Period").
Lead Plaintiff Has Settled the Action for $16.5 Million
The Court-appointed Lead Plaintiff, The Amitim Funds, on behalf of itself and the Settlement Class, has settled the Action for $16,500,000 in cash (the “Settlement”).
The Court held a hearing to consider approval of the Settlement and related matters on December 15, 2020. On April 28 and 29, 2021, the Court entered a Final Judgment and an Order finally approving the Settlement and approving the proposed Plan of Allocation, and an Order awarding attorneys’ fees and expenses.
Please read the Notice to fully understand your rights. You may also visit the Settlement website, OPKOHealthSecuritiesLitigation.com, for more information about the Settlement.
Information in Hebrew (מידע בעברית) can be found at OPKOHealthSecuritiesLitigation.com.
The Litigation
In September 2018, after a significant investigation, the SEC charged Frost and OPKO with numerous violations of the federal securities laws for this misconduct. After the disclosure of the SEC complaint, the price of OPKO common stock collapsed by more than 30%, causing significant harm to OPKO shareholders. The Complaint alleges that Defendant Phillip Frost, CEO and Chairman of Defendant OPKO, who enjoyed a reputation as a savvy investor in biotechnology companies and was sometimes referred to as the “Warren Buffet of biotech,” used OPKO, a publicly traded company, as a vehicle for illicit investing activities. The action arises from alleged false statements and omissions by Frost and OPKO concealing the involvement of Frost, OPKO and other Defendants in multiple illicit “pump-and-dump” stock schemes. The Defendants allegedly used orchestrated trading and false promotional pieces to artificially “pump” up the share price of companies in which they had invested, and then “dumped” their shares by selling them to unsuspecting investors, leaving investors holding stock that was, in truth, virtually worthless.
Background
In December 2013, investment company Lakewood Capital Management (“Lakewood”) published a detailed report titled, “OPKO Health: The Placebo Effect” (the “Lakewood Report”), which connected Frost and OPKO with two individuals named Barry Honig and Michael Brauser, among others, implicated in numerous suspect investments going back years. The Lakewood Report detailed examples of litigation against, and suspected fraud by, Honig and Brauser, and raised serious concern among OPKO investors. In the days after Lakewood’s criticisms were aired, OPKO’s stock declined significantly on elevated trading volume. Frost and Opko denied the allegations in the Lakewood Report.
Throughout the Class Period, Frost and OPKO made a host of other public statements in SEC filings, investor conferences, and the media that were designed to reassure investors that their investment activities were legitimate, were based on the identification of valuable medical technology, and were made to benefit OPKO and its shareholders.
The Complaint alleges, however, that these statements were materially false and misleading, and served to conceal a disturbing truth: unbeknownst to investors, Frost and OPKO were indeed involved in multiple alleged illicit “pump-and-dump” schemes with Honig and Brauser. Investors in OPKO stock did not learn the truth about this alleged misconduct until September 7, 2018, when the SEC charged Frost, OPKO, Honig, Brauser, and multiple additional entities controlled by Frost with a litany of violations of the federal securities laws for engaging in multiple “‘pump-and-dump’ schemes” leaving “retail investors holding virtually worthless shares.”
On February 4, 2019, the Court appointed The Amitim Funds as Lead Plaintiff, and BLB&G as Lead Counsel, for the Class, and on May 3, 2019, Lead Plaintiff filed the Complaint on behalf of a class of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired OPKO common stock from September 26, 2013 to September 7, 2018. In June 2020, the parties reached a proposed settlement of $16.5 million that was subject to Court approval.
On September 4, 2020, the Court entered an Order preliminarily approving the Settlement, approving the mailing of notice to the Settlement Class, and scheduling a final Settlement Hearing for December 15, 2020.
On April 28, 2021, the Court entered an Order finally approving the Settlement and approving the proposed Plan of Allocation. On April 29, 2021, the Court entered an Order awarding attorneys’ fees and expenses and a Final Judgment.
The claims administration was completed in October 2021. On November 19, 2021 the Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan was filed. On March 23, 2022, the Court entered the Order Approving the Distribution Plan. The first distribution of the net settlement fund occurred in May 2022. Subsequent distributions will occur on a rolling basis provided that net settlement funds are available.