Abiomed's stock drops again as attorneys begin to circle

For Abiomed ($ABMD), it's bad enough to deal with a federal investigation into how the company markets and labels its signature Impella 2.5 heart pump. But now the federal inquiry could lead to a shareholder lawsuit.

The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith says it is investigating, on behalf of shareholders, the possibility that Abiomed violated federal securities laws. At issue: The possibility that executives made "false and misleading" statements regarding Abiomed's business, operations and finances. The attorney announcement says the look into potential claims against Abiomed is directly related to the U.S. Attorney's Office investigation that Abiomed executives disclosed on Nov. 1.   

Of course, the attorney is seeking possible clients to represent, so the announcement should be taken with a grain of salt. But it points to the likelihood that irate shareholders might take legal action, and attorneys are simply making themselves known to make their lawsuits easier to pursue.

Investors reacted strongly to the Nov. 1 federal lawsuit disclosure, driving Abiomed's stock down more than 30% in initial trading. The company's stock price rebounded a bit on Nov. 2, MassDevice reports, following Abiomed's announcement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved three new reimbursement codes for its Impella heart pumps--a major win for the company.

So far, Nov. 5 is a different story. After a rally on Friday, Abiomed's stock price declined over the weekend and traded at $13.11 by late morning, down more than 5.3%.

- read the attorney announcement
- check out MassDevice's take