Portola Pharmaceuticals Trims Investor Allegations, For Now

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. won a partial reprieve in a securities lawsuit, but investors can “almost certainly” fix the flaws in their loss causation allegations by amending their complaint, a federal judge in California said.

Portola allegedly misled investors through its revenue, growth, and demand statements. The amended complaint—filed after a judge rejected an earlier version as “lengthy, repetitious, and confusing”—properly alleged a Securities Act claim, but the Exchange Act portion needs more work, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said.

The investors “articulated a highly plausible theory of securities fraud,” properly alleging Portola knowingly ...