Shares of OncoMed (OMED) plunged more than 40% today, January 25th, in the wake of a report concerning a pancreatic cancer drug the company had reportedly been working on. According to Marketwatch, “an independent data safety monitoring board advised ‘of several findings regarding futility’ of a Phase 2 treatment of pancreatic cancer.’”
Investors who have lost money in OncoMed may be legally entitled to recover some or all of their losses and are encouraged to contact the attorneys at Malecki Law to explore their rights.
Unfortunately, issues like the one presently facing OncoMed can happen in the market. Even more unfortunate is that often times financial advisors will improperly advise their clients to take large positions in advance of the release of a report concerning a company’s prized drug, like Tarextumab.
The hope would be that the report would be favorable and the company stock will yield large profits for the investor and big commissions for the broker. However, this “all or nothing” strategy can be extremely risky for the investor.
Regrettably, brokers will frequently fail to properly advise their client of the extreme risks that may be involved in placing a big bet on one stock. Instead brokers may encourage their client with only positive analysis and promises of big profits, saying it’s a “sure thing.”
Such large bets are typically not suitable for your average investor. They are usually best reserved for highly sophisticated investors who have the ability to properly assess the investment risks and absorb the potentially enormous losses. Frequently, these are wealthy hedge fund managers and the like. Even for most of the very wealthy, these investments would likely not be suitable absent extremely high levels sophistication and investment experience.
If an investment is not suitable for a customer, the broker is not permitted to recommend that the customer invest – plain and simple.
But, if a broker makes an unsuitable investment recommendation to a customer, the customer may be legally entitled to recover all or some of their losses.
So, if you or a family member lost money in OncoMed at the recommendation of a financial advisor and want to explore your rights, you are encouraged to contact the securities and investment fraud lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation and case evaluation at (212) 943-1233.
Malecki Law has successfully brought securities actions on behalf of investors who suffered losses as a result of unscrupulous actions taken in their securities accounts, recovering millions of dollars for their clients.
Malecki Law takes a proactive and informed approach to the financial news of today: actively engaging in fact-finding analysis on prospective cases from around the world. Our thorough knowledge of securities law’s history and fine points makes us ideal consultants for investors who have suffered losses due to misadvice from their broker or other financial counsel.