NERA Economic Consulting and Cornerstone Research released their 2022 midyear reports on securities class action filings last month. As usual, the different methodologies employed by the two organizations have led to slightly different numbers, although they both identify the same general trends.
The key findings include:
(1) The reports agree that filings are at steady levels as compared to 2021, with only a small number of M&A-related cases. NERA finds that there were 101 filings in 2022 H1, while Cornerstone finds that there were 110 filings in 2022 H1 (up slightly from 2021 H2).
(2) SPAC filings continue to be a key component. NERA finds that there were 19 SPAC-related filings and Cornerstone finds that there were 18 SPAC-related filings. Both reports agree that SPAC filings are on pace to easily exceed the total SPAC filings in 2021.
(3) Cornerstone finds that SPAC, cryptocurrency, and COVID-19 filings remained elevated with 18, 10, and 8 filings respectively. On other hand, filings against non-U.S. issuers are on track to be less than half of 2020’s record high of 74, but in line with the 2012-2016 historical average.
(4) NERA finds that the most common allegation in cases filed in the first half of 2022 is misled future performance (30%).
The NERA report can be found here and the Cornerstone report can be found here.
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