Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (NEPT) Misled Investors About the True Costs Associated with the SugarLeaf Acquisition
On May 9, 2019, Neptune announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire assets of SugarLeaf, a registered North Carolina-based commercial hemp company providing extraction services and formulated products. On July 24, 2019, Neptune announced the closing of the SugarLeaf acquisition. During the class period, Neptune touted the benefits of the SugarLeaf acquisition, especially on Neptune’s financial results. However, these statements were misleading because defendants failed to disclose that the cost of Neptune’s integration of the assets and operations acquired in the SugarLand acquisition would be larger than the Company had acknowledged, placing significant strain on the Company’s capital reserves, and requiring the Company to conduct additional stock offerings to raise more capital.
On February 15, 2021, Neptune issued a press release announcing disappointing financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2021, missing analyst expectations. On this news, Neptune’s stock price fell $0.86 per share, or over 30%, to close at $1.94 per share on February 16, 2021. On February 17, 2021, prior to the open of trading, Neptune issued a press release announcing the termination of an at-the-market offering conducted by the Company, selling 9,570,735 of its common shares and raising approximately $18.6 million in gross proceeds. Minutes later, Neptune issued a second press release announcing that the Company was conducting a $55 million registered direct offering. On this news, Neptune’s stock fell $0.21 or 10.82% to close at $1.73 per share on February 17, 2021. The stock has yet to recover.
