Class-action securities filings up sharply in first half
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The number of new securities class actions filed in the first half of this year increased by 23% from the second half of 2022, according to a report released Thursday.
The 114 filings, which were up from 93 in last year’s second half, were in line with the 115 reported in the first half of 2022, said the report by San Francisco-based Cornerstone Research Inc. and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse.
Maximum dollar loss, which reflects changes in defendant companies’ capitalization during the class period, increased to a record high of $2.25 billion in the first half, which is more than double the $892 million in the comparable period in 2022.
Cryptocurrency-related lawsuits had the most filings among categories, with 11, followed by SPACs (seven) and COVID-19-related lawsuits (six).
“We continue to see a high level of cryptocurrency-related securities class-action filings,” Alexander Aganin, the report’s co-author and a Cornerstone Research senior vice president, said in a statement.
“If this pace continues through the rest of the year, it is likely that the total number of cryptocurrency filings will near the record high seen in 2022.”
