Overview

A class action lawsuit captioned Heeg v. FMC Corporation, et al. has been filed against FMC Corporation (“FMC” or the “Company”) (NYSE: FMC) and certain of the Company’s top executive officers alleging that they violated the federal securities laws.  The lawsuit seeks to represent all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired FMC’s common stock between November 1, 2022, and October 30, 2023 (the “Class Period”). This class definition has been updated to reflect the expanded class period set forth in the follow-on case Employer-Teamsters Local Nos. 175 & 505 Health & Welfare Fund v. FMC Corporation et al. The original class definition for the lead case was: All persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired FMC common stock between November 2, 2022, and October 20, 2023.

FMC is an agricultural sciences company and chemical manufacturer specializing in the production of patented crop protection products. The Company describes its business as “advancing farming through innovative and sustainable crop protection technologies.”

On September 7, 2023, Blue Orca Capital published a report, alleging that FMC and its executives had made a series of false statements about the status of patent protections for FMC’s flagship products following legal defeats in India, China, and Brazil that the Company had concealed from investors. The Blue Orca Report emphasized that the products at issue, patented diamides (a class of insecticide), “account for almost 40% of FMC’s. . . revenues” in the past year and an estimated “60+% of reported EBITDA” and that FMC had “concealed from investors that it [had] suffered a recent string of stunning legal defeats around the globe that have enabled competitors to now launch competing generics at prices up to 80% below the price of FMC’s flagship insecticide product” and that “contrary to the Company’s claims, FMC’s process patents do not protect its flagship product from generic competition.”

The Blue Orca Report included an analysis of legal proceedings and market conditions in India, China, and Brazil. In addition to identifying a range of market headwinds affecting FMC’s prospects in such markets, the Blue Orca Report concluded that FMC and its executives repeatedly made false claims that legal victories had ensured Diamide patent protection for years to come, when, in fact, FMC’s legal losses had resulted in a loss of patent protection for its flagship products and cleared the way for generic competition. In short, Defendants repeatedly falsely reassured investors that FMC had not gone over the patent cliff while, in truth, the Company was already in free fall. Immediately following these revelations on September 7, 2023, the Company’s share price dropped more than 7.4%, to close at $76.10 per share, representing approximately $630 million in investor losses, on high trading volume.

Finally, On October 23, 2023, FMC announced that it was again cutting its Q3 2023 outlook and guidance for revenues for Q4 and FY 2024, projecting earnings well below the expectations of analysts, citing substantially lower sales volumes in Latin America, particularly Brazil. On this news, FMC’s stock price fell $8.83 per share, or 12.18%, to close at $58.12 per share on October 23, 2023.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, it is alleged that Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the diminishment of patent protection for FMC’s flagship products following legal defeats in key markets including India, China, and Brazil had opened the door to increased competition from generics; (2) the Company repeatedly mislead investors about the status of such proceedings and falsely claimed that it did not and would not face generic competition in key markets until 2026 at the earliest; and (3) because of these issues Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

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If you purchased or otherwise acquired FMC’s securities between November 1, 2022, and October 30, 2023, inclusive, and suffered substantial losses, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this lawsuit, we encourage you to submit your information to DiCello Levitt LLP via the form on this page. 

You can also contact DiCello Levitt partner Brian O’Mara by calling (888) 287-9005 or at investors@dicellolevitt.com. 

The deadline to apply to the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff in the FMC lawsuit is January 08, 2024.