NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck” or the “Company”) (NYSE: MRK) securities between February 3, 2022 and February 3, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for the Company’s investors under the federal securities laws.
According to the Complaint, Defendants provided investors with material information concerning Merck’s expected revenue of $11 billion from sales of Gardasil by 2030. The Complaint alleges that Defendants’ statements included, among other things, confidence in Merck’s purported ability to utilize successful consumer activation and education efforts on the benefits of Gardasil in order to drive demand and capitalize on eligible populations for vaccination, resulting in confidently optimistic reports and forecasts of Gardasil’s growth in China.
The Complaint alleges that defendants provided these overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Gardasil’s demand in China; notably, that Merck lacked visibility into demand for Gardasil in China among eligible and otherwise targeted populations, resulting in the inflated inventory of its distributor, Zhifei. The Complaint further alleges that such statements absent these material facts caused Plaintiff and other shareholders to purchase Merck’s securities at artificially inflated prices.
The Complaint also alleges that investors began to question the truth of Defendants’ public statements on July 30, 2024, during Merck’s earnings call following a same day press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings. The Complaint alleges that in pertinent part, Defendants announced a significant reduction in Gardasil vaccinations, resulting in inventory levels at Merck’s distributor in China to climb above normal levels. The Complaint further alleges that as a result, Defendants announced that its shipments of Gardasil to China may fall below contracted levels for 2024, yet they remained confident in their long-term projections both in the region and globally.
According to the Complaint the full truth finally emerged on February 4, 2025, when Merck announced it would no longer achieve the long-forecasted $11 billion in sales of Gardasil by 2030, as it would cease shipments of Gardasil to China “through at least midyear” to facilitate a “rapid reduction of inventory.” The Complaint alleges that Defendants claimed this was necessitated by the continued over-inflation of overall channel inventories as demand in China for Gardasil had “not recovered to the level we had expected.”
The Complaint further alleges that investors and analysts again reacted promptly to Merk’s revelations. The Complaint alleges that the price of Merck’s common stock declined dramatically, from a closing market price of $99.79 per share on February 3, 2025, Merck’s stock price fell to $90.74 per share on February 4, 2025, a decline of more than 9% in the span of just a single day.
Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Merck should contact the Firm prior to the April 14, 2025 lead plaintiff motion deadline. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Thomas J. McKenna, Esq. or Gregory M. Egleston, Esq. of Gainey McKenna & Egleston at (212) 983-1300, or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected].
Please visit our website at http://www.gme-law.com for more information about the firm.
