Allegations
According to the filed complaint, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that defendants stated in Arconic’s quarterly and annual reports issued during the Class Period that Arconic’s share repurchase programs were “intended to comply with Rule 10b5-1,” which prohibits securities trading on the basis of material nonpublic information, and that all of Arconic’s share purchases “were made in compliance with Rule 10b-18,” which provides a safe harbor for share repurchases that meet certain criteria, but does not provide a safe harbor for insider trading or other violations of the federal securities laws. However, at the time those statements were made, Arconic had made share repurchases while in possession of material nonpublic information, and therefore Arconic’s share repurchase programs were not in compliance with Rule 10b5-1, and the share repurchases were not made in compliance with Rule 10b-18. Further, defendants stated that they were continuing with share repurchases. Inasmuch as the Company was restrained by law from buying back stock during active negotiations with Apollo, the defendants’ statements with respect to ongoing stock repurchases signaled to the market that there were no, and had been no, ongoing negotiations. Accordingly, when speaking about the stock repurchases, the defendants were obligated to disclose the whole truth – that they were in, or had been in, negotiations with Apollo.