We are investigating Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) (“Cardinal” or the “Company”) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.
In March 2015, Cardinal purchased Cordis Corp. (“Cordis”) from Johnson & Johnson. On August 2, 2017, Cardinal reported weak earnings for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017 and lowered its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2018 due in part to “higher-than- planned write-offs for excess inventory” at Cordis. On this news, Cardinal’s stock price fell $6.34 per share, or 8.2%, to close at $70.99 per share on August 2, 2017. Then, on May 3, 2018, Cardinal announced disappointing results for its third quarter fiscal year 2018 and cut its fiscal year 2018 earnings guidance. The Company explained that the “biggest variable driving these results” was the “disappointing performance” of the Cordis business. On this news, Cardinal’s stock price fell $13.85 per share, or 21.42%, to close at $50.80 per share on May 3, 2018. Cardinal subsequently took a $1.4 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge driven by continued “inventory and cost challenges within [the] Cordis business” representing almost 70% of Cordis’s acquisition price.