EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague's investigation into potential securities fraud claims against Eastman Kodak Company ("Kodak" or the "Company") has been expanded to include investors who purchased Kodak securities (NYSE: KODK) between July 27, 2020 and August 11, 2020 (the "Class Period").
If you purchased Kodak securities during the Class Period, have questions concerning your rights or interests, or would like to discuss Berger Montague's investigation, please contact attorney Andrew Abramowitz at (215) 875-3015, aabramowitz@bm.net, or contact us at www.bergermontague.com/kodak.
According to the Complaint, on July 27, 2020, Kodak issued a statement to local media outlets in Rochester, NY, where the Company is based, indicating that a public announcement regarding a "new manufacturing initiative" involving the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation ("DFC") was imminent. Unbeknownst to investors, on the same day, Kodak granted its CEO 1.75 million stock options at a conversion price of between $3.03 and $12.00 per share and awarded 45,000 stock options to three other executives.
On July 28, 2020, Kodak's shares soared 200% - from its July 27 closing price of $2.62 to $7.94 – on news that the Company had won a $765 million government loan from the DFC to produce pharmaceutical materials, including ingredients for COVID-19 drugs. Shares continued to surge by over 300% the following day, closing at $33.20 per share on July 29. These massive increases allowed Company insiders to see massive profits.
On August 1, 2020, a Reuters article reported details of the "unusual" 1.75 million option grant to the Company's CEO James Continenza, an award "that had previously neither been listed in his employment contract nor made public." Shares fell 32% on that date. On August 4, 2020, Senator Elizabeth Warren requested that the SEC investigate Kodak for violations of the securities laws.
On August 7, 2020, after the market closed, the DFC announced that "[o]n July 28, we signed a Letter of Interest with Eastman Kodak. Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns. We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared." On this news, the Company's stock price plummeted 28% to close at $10.73 per share. Finally, on August 11, 2020, CEO Continenza held a conference call in which he acknowledged that the transaction entailed merely a "potential loan." Shares declined an additional 3% to close at $9.72 per share on August 12.
If you purchased Kodak shares during the Class Period, you may seek Court appointment as lead plaintiff to represent other injured investors in a class action. The lead plaintiff appointment deadline is October 12, 2020. You do not need to be a lead plaintiff to share in any potential Class recovery.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Eastman Kodak Company are encouraged to confidentially assist Berger Montague's investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under this program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to thirty percent (30%) of recoveries obtained by the SEC. For more information, contact us.
Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and San Diego, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States.
Contact
Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel
Berger Montague
(215) 875-3015
aabramowitz@bm.net
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