Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Ardelyx, Concho, PayPal, and Cassava Sciences and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX), Concho Resources Inc. (Other OTC: CXO), PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL), and Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX)

Class Period: August 6, 2020 to July 19, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 28, 2021

Ardelyx is a specialized biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicine to improve treatment for people with cardiorenal disease, including patients with chronic kidney disease (“CKD”) on dialysis suffering from elevated serum phosphorus, or hyperphosphatemia.

In June 2020, Ardelyx submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for its lead product candidate, tenapanor, a supposedly first-in-class medicine for the control of serum phosphorus in adult patients with CKD on dialysis. Ardelyx’s NDA was purportedly supported by successful Phase 3 studies, which, according to the complaint, showed “improvements” over current treatments and supported tenapanor’s “clinical safety and efficacy,” reinforcing its “potential” to be a “transformative” treatment.

After the market closed on July 19, 2021, however, Ardelyx revealed that it had received a letter from the FDA stating that it had detected issues with both the size and clinical relevance of the drug’s treatment effect.

On this news, the Company’s share price declined, falling $9.71 per share, or nearly 74%, to close at $2.01 per share on July 20, 2021.

For more information on the Ardelyx class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ARDX

Concho Resources Inc. (Other OTC: CXO)

Class Period: February 21, 2018 and July 31, 2019

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 28, 2021

On July 31, 2019, after the close of trading, Concho released its financial results for the second quarter 2019. On this date, the Company revealed that the Dominator Project’s 23 wells were spaced “too tight,” and that Concho had already “incorporated learnings from [the Dominator Project] into its second half of 2019 program and future Delaware Basin projects.” Concho also revealed that it would be forced to scale back production targets for the rest of this year, including by reducing its active rig count to 18, down from 33 in the first quarter 2019.

On this news, Concho sank 22% to close at $75.97 per share on August 1, 2019, down from the closing price of $97.68 per share on July 31, 2019.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the well spacing at the Company’s Dominator Project was aggressive and highly risky, and premised on no reasonable basis to believe it would work as intended; (ii) Concho’s practice of implementing tighter well spacing was not relegated to a handful of “tests” and therefore more widespread than the market was led to believe; (iii) it was known or recklessly disregarded that any measures to mitigate well spacing risks were non-existent and/or impossible; (iv) these risks had manifested during the Class Period, causing underground well interference and permanently decreasing production, forcing the Company to scale back production targets and adopt more conservative spacing measures in its other projects; (v) it would take multiple quarters to unwind the impacts of the widespread well spacing failure; and (vi) as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

For more information on the Concho class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CXO

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)

Class Period: September February 9, 2017 to July 28, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 19, 2021

On July 29, 2021, PayPal filed a quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), reporting the Company’s financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2021. In its quarterly report, PayPal disclosed investigations by the SEC and the CFPB. Specifically, PayPal disclosed receipt of a Civil Investigative Demand from the CFPB related “to the marketing and use of PayPal Credit in connection with certain merchants that provide educational services”; and that the Company has “responded to subpoenas and requests for information received from the [SEC] relating to whether the interchange rates paid to the bank that issues debit cards bearing our licensed brands were consistent with Regulation II of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to the reporting of marketing fees earned from the Company’s branded card program.”

On this news, PayPal’s stock price fell $18.81 per share, or 6.23%, to close at $283.17 per share on July 29, 2021.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) PayPal had deficient disclosure controls and procedures; (ii) as a result, PayPal’s business practices with respect to PayPal Credit remained non-compliant with applicable laws and/or regulations; (iii) PayPal’s practices regarding payment of interchange rates related to its debit cards were likewise non-compliant with applicable laws and/or regulations; (iv) accordingly, PayPal’s revenues derived from its PayPal Credit and debit card practices were in part the subject of improper conduct and thus unsustainable; (v) all the foregoing subjected the Company to an increased risk of regulatory investigation and enforcement; and (vi) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

For more information on the PayPal class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/PYPL

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA)

Class Period: February 2, 2021 to August 24, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 26, 2021

On August 24, 2021, after the market closed, reports emerged about a citizen petition submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) concerning the accuracy and integrity of clinical data for simufilam. The petition requested that the FDA halt Cassava’s clinical trials pending a thorough audit of the publications and data relied upon by the Company.

Among other things, the petition stated that the “detailed analysis of the western blots [relied on by Cassava to support the connection between simufilam and Alzheimer’s] shows a series of anomalies that are suggestive of systematic data manipulation and misrepresentation.” It also stated that the methodology for studies “about Simufilam’s effects in experiments conducted on postmortem human brain tissue . . . defies logic, and the data presented again have hallmarks of manipulation.” The petition further stated that, after initial analyses of Phase 2b trials found that Simufilam was ineffective in improving the primary biomarkers endpoint, “Cassava had these samples analyzed again and this time reported that Simufilam rapidly and robustly improved a wide array of biomarkers” and the reanalysis “shows signs of data anomalies or manipulation.”

On August 25, 2021, before the market opened, Cassava issued a response to the petition, claiming that the allegations regarding scientific integrity are false and misleading. Among other things, the Company claimed that the clinical data, which the citizen petition stated had been reanalyzed to show simufilam was effective, had been generated by Quanterix Corp. (“Quanterix”), an independent company, suggesting that the reanalysis was valid.

On August 27, 2021, before the market opened, Quanterix issued a statement denying the Company’s claims, stating that it “did not interpret the test results or prepare the data” touted by Cassava.

The same day, Cassava responded to Quanterix’s statement, stating that “Quanterix’[s] sole responsibility with regard to this clinical study was to perform sample testing,specifically, to measure levels of p-tau in plasma samples collected from study subjects.”

On this news, the Company’s share price fell $12.51, or 17.6%, to close at $58.34 per share on August 27, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that data underlying the foundational research for Cassava’s product candidates had been manipulated; (2) that experiments using post-mortem human brain tissue frozen for nearly 10 years was contrary to a basic understanding of neurobiology; (3) that biomarker analysis for patients treated with simufilam had been manipulated to conclude that simufilam was effective; (4) that Quanterix, an independent company, had not interpreted the test results or prepared the data charts for the biomarker analysis for patients treated with simufilam; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, there was a reasonable likelihood that Cassava would face regulatory scrutiny in connection with the development of simufilam; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

For more information on the Cassava Sciences class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SAVA

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
[email protected]
www.bespc.com

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