STEVENSON, Md., April 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The securities litigation law firm of Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, on behalf of purchasers of Akorn, Inc. ("Akorn" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:AKRX) securities during the period between April 17, 2014 and March 2, 2015, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who wish to become proactively involved in the litigation have until May 4, 2015 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff.
If you have suffered a loss from investment in Akorn securities purchased on or after April 17, 2014 and held through the revelation of negative information during and/or at the end of the Class Period, as described below, and would like to learn more about this lawsuit and your ability to participate as a lead plaintiff, without cost or obligation to you, please visit our website at http://www.browerpiven.com/currentsecuritiescases.html. You may also request more information by contacting Brower Piven either by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com or by telephone at (410) 415-6616. No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff.
If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in Company securities during the Class Period. Brower Piven also encourages anyone with information regarding the Company's conduct during the period in question to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.
The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the defendants' failure to disclose during the Class Period that as of December 31, 2014, more than eight months after it acquired Hi-Tech and four months after it acquired VersaPharm, Akorn did not yet integrate those subsidiaries into the Company's centralized accounting department and accounting systems and that certain financial and other related data related to Hi-Tech and VersaPharm, which require inclusion in Akorn's annual report to be filed with the SEC on Form 10-K, could not be timely collected and compiled. Due to the aforementioned issues, the Company would be unable to timely complete its assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014, and Akorn's internal control over financial reporting was ineffective and material weaknesses existed relating to the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the determination of significant estimates and accounting transactions and accurate and timely reporting of its financial results and disclosures in its Form 10-K.
According to the complaint, following the Company's March 2, 2015 announcement that it would need an extension to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2014, the value of Akorn shares declined significantly.
Attorneys at Brower Piven have extensive experience in litigating securities and other class action cases and have been advocating for the rights of shareholders since the 1980s. If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.