Vaxart Faces Federal Derivative Suit Over Covid Vaccine Claims

Vaxart Inc.'s directors threw their fiduciary duties “out the window in an effort to enrich themselves” off news of the company’s involvement in the search for a coronavirus vaccine, a shareholder told a federal court in California.

The biotechnology company’s board caused Vaxart to issue a press release claiming its vaccine had been selected as part of the federal Operation Warp Speed production effort, allowing its largest shareholder to profit from an increase in its stock price, according to a derivative suit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Armistice Capital LLC—also named as ...