Securities Class Actions Hit Four-Year Low, Report Says

Investors have brought the fewest number of class action lawsuits since 2016 as Covid-19 takes a toll, according to a new report.

The 182 securities class actions filed in the first half of 2020 represented an 18% drop from the 221 class actions in the second half of 2019, Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse said in a joint report released Wednesday. The study attributed at least some of the decrease to the coronavirus.

The semiannual tally, which does include 11 coronavirus-related cases, is the lowest amount since the 160 cases filed in the second ...