On January 28, 2020, U.S. magistrate judge Donald L. Cabell, ruled in favor of Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, denying the SEC request for a protective order and granting Lemelson's request to depose The SEC on grounds of bias and selective enforcement, stating in part:

"..the court finds that the defendant here has asserted enough facts... to warrant discovery on his claim of selective enforcement and bias."

To read the full decision, click here or see below on Scribd.

 For more background see:

• Motion to Dismiss here (October 25, 2018)
• Reply Brief here (November 21, 2018) 
• Opposition to The Securities and Exchange Commission's motion for protective order here  (January 7, 2020)
• Affidavit of Religious Affiliation here (March 30, 2020)
• Motion for Summary Judgement here (September 30, 2020)

Since the SEC announced its charges against Lemelson in late September 2018, Ligand's stock price has fallen as much as 80 percent (intra-day), destroying billions of dollars in shareholder value.

Fig. 1

Ligand's Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) Stock Price Performance Since The SEC announced charges against Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson 

Lemelson Capital Management Reports FYE 2019 Results for The Amvona Fund, LP

Short and long positions contribute to FYE 2019 net returns of 151 percent¹

Shelburne, Vermont, January 21, 2020, (Globe Newswire) —Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), today announced financial results for The Amvona Fund, LP (The Fund) for FYE 2019.  The Fund posted net returns of 151 percent for FYE 2019, beating by 480 percent the benchmark S&P 500 Total Return Index,² which returned 31.5 percent during the same period. 

“We concluded 2019 with our highest rate of return and largest investor base ever,” said Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, LCM’s CIO. “Notably, Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND), which we are short, was in free fall for most of 2019, while Bed Bath and Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), Buckle, Inc. (NYSE: BKE) and Macy’s (NYSE: M)  which we are long, performed well,” Lemelson continued.

LCM will host an investor conference call on The Fund's FYE 2019 financial results beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST on January 21, 2020. This call will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

Register for the call here

LCM periodically provides information for investors on its corporate website, LemelsonCapital.com, and its related site, Amvona.com. This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, reports filed or furnished with the SEC, information on corporate governance and details related to its annual meeting of shareholders.

Please read the important notice and disclaimer regarding The Fund’s performance and this release here

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About Lemelson Capital Management

Lemelson Capital Management, LLC is a private investment management firm focused on deep value and special situation investments.  

Follow LCM on Twitter @LemelsonCapital - Follow Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson on Twitter @Lemelson

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Investor Relations contact

Lemelson Capital Management, LLC 
Investor and Media Relations 
Telephone: 802-332-3833

¹Based on preliminary unaudited results. The returns are net of all fees and expenses that would be incurred by a hypothetical day-one investor.  For a further explanation of how LCM calculates results, please read the disclosure here

²The S&P 500 Total Return Index includes the reinvestment of dividends

Lemelson Capital Management To Announce Fiscal 2019 Results For The Amvona Fund, LP On January 21, 2020

Watch! "This Is A Rigged Game"

As Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) shares continue to implode, heading towards new multi-year lows, Lemelson's Amvona Fund is gearing up to report results

There are a limited number of lines available. This call is expected to be oversubscribed.

As predicted by Fr. Emmanuel, Ligand’s shares continue to plummet following a catastrophic earnings report released on November 5, 2019. The collapse continued a trend, seen in recent months, that has led to a decline of as much as 70 percent in Ligand's share price since late September 2018 and destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder value, even as markets recently achieved record highs.

To read Fr. Emmanuel's recent opposition to The Securities and Exchange Commission's motion for protective order click here

Disclosure: LCM is currently short shares of LGND

To read the full Opposition to The Securities and Exchange Commission's motion for protective order click here or view on Scribd below.

For more background see Fr. Emmanuel's October 25, 2018 motion to dismiss and November 21, 2018, reply brief, click here and here  

The Commission’s case against Fr. Emmanuel is unprecedented... Ligand and its counsel’s role in this enforcement action—and the Commission’s reliance thereon—is troubling"

In reference to The SEC reliance on Ligand's demonstrably false assertions
Opposition to SEC's Motion for Protective Order, January 7, 2020

Opposition to The SEC's Motion for Protective Order by amvona on Scribd

On July 17, 2018, Fr. Emmanuel released a letter he provided members of The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and the SEC Office of the Inspector General, further outlining extensive alleged abuses of accounting, pharmaceutical reimbursement and classification guidelines and regulations by Ligand Pharmaceuticals. In the letter, Lemelson urged the Committees in both the House and the Senate to commence an investigation into these alleged abuses, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) failure to stop them.

Lemelson's full July 13, 2018 letter to Congress is available online here

His December 2016 letter to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, regarding the company, is available online here

Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) Soars Over 29% Post-Earnings

Between November 8 and 11, 2019, Lemelson Capital Management, on behalf of its investors in The Amvona Fund, LP initiated a long position in close-out retailer Big Lots.   Shares had been down more than 50 percent since late April 2019, with over 20 percent of the shares sold short as of the last reporting period.

In early trading today, shares of Big Lots soared over 29 percent after the company said it swung to a third-quarter net profit of $127 million, or $3.25 per share.  The company's CEO Bruce Thorn commented, "After a year of restructuring and transition in 2019, and despite the ongoing impact of tariffs, we expect to return to EBIT and EPS growth in 2020, including a significant improvement in normalized free cash flow."

As of publication, The Amvona Fund, LP is on track for a record performance in 2019. 

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) Plummets, Geospace Technologies (NASDAQ: GEOS) CFO Heads For The Door

On November 8, 2019, Lemelson Capital Management, on behalf of its investors in The Amvona Fund, LP initiated a short position in shares of Palo Alto Networks. 

In early trading today, shares of Palo Alto Networks plummeted nearly 12 percent after the cybersecurity company gave an outlook for its current quarter that was below Wall Street estimates and provided a disappointing profit outlook. 

Separately on November 21, 2019, Geospace Technologies announced that the company's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom McEntire would be "retiring" at a curiously young age. Lemelson Capital management previously called for Mr. McEntire's removal from the company. To read Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson's full letter to the board of directors of the company, click here.

Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson speaks out against alleged fraud and complicit regulators as Ligand shares continue to implode, heading towards new multi-year lows

Shelburne, VT, November 7, 2019 -- Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, CIO of Lemelson Capital Management (LCM), today, continued to speak out against alleged fraud and abuses at Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Ligand) as well as complicit regulators.

Ligand’s shares continue to plummet following a catastrophic earnings report released on November 5, 2019, after the market closed.^[1]  The collapse continued a trend, seen in recent months, that has led to a decline of as much as 70 percent in Ligand's share price since late September 2018 and destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder value, even as markets recently achieved record highs. 

Fr. Emmanuel's publicly available research and commentary have charted alleged fraud and regulatory abuses at Ligand Pharmaceuticals spanning multiple years. Lemelson has made over 1000 allegations, including business accounting and securities fraud perpetrated by Ligand, including abuse of the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, in collaboration with purported "licensees," to increase the price ^[2] of drugs in poor and developing countries.

"Exploiting the sick, the poor and the vulnerable, to enrich executives is unacceptable," said Lemelson.

 Lemelson Capital Increases Short Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND), Calls on US Attorney to Investigate

As Ligand shares implode, reaching new multi-year low, Lemelson calls for intervention to protect investors

Shelburne, VT, July 30, 2019 -- Lemelson Capital Management (LCM), a private investment management firm, today announced that it had increased its short position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND). The firm today also called on the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of California to investigate Ligand for alleged criminal violations of federal securities laws amidst what LCM has called SEC failures.

LCM’s 2014-2018 research and commentary charted the alleged fraud. As of today, Ligand’s shares continue to plummet,^[1] contributing to a drop in the share price of as much as 65 percent since late September 2018 and destroying billions of dollars in shareholder value, even as markets recently achieved record highs.

To read Lemelson’s prior research reports and commentary on Ligand click here

Sadly, investors have been ruined by Ligand’s alleged scheme while the SEC has ignored the red flags and botched opportunities for a proper investigation of the company,” said Lemelson Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson."

Fr. Emmanuel's Amvona Fund Posted Net Return Of 70.3% In 1st Half of 2019.

CIO Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson, joined by CFO John Zoraian, leads a discussion moderated by Lester Firstenberger at The Amvona Fund, LP 2019 Annual Meeting.

This extended highlight reel covers Lemelson's Christian philosophy of investment, activism, his battle with U.S. regulators over Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) and more.

Lemelson Capital Management Announces 1H, 2019 Financial Results for The Amvona Fund, LP

Short position in Ligand pharmaceuticals, long position in Geospace Technologies, contribute to 70.27¹ percent net return in 1H, 2019

Shelburne, Vermont, July 16, 2019, PR Newswire—Lemelson Capital Management, LLC (LCM), a private investment management firm, today announced performance results for its flagship Amvona Fund, LP. (The Fund). For 1H 2019, The Amvona Fund returned 70.27 percent net of all fees and expenses, beating by 51.73 percent the benchmark S&P 500 Total Return Index,² which returned 18.54 percent during the same period.

The Fund’s short position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) and Long position in Geospace Technologies (NASDAQ: GEOS) contributed to the returns.  During the period, The Fund continued to expand its investor base.³

“Our short position in Ligand and long position in Geospace Technologies are playing out as predicted, with the share price of Ligand continuing to crumble in the first half of 2019 and recently trading near a two-year low, while Geospace Technologies approaches a two-year high,” said Lemelson Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson.

Through various research reports and media interviews, LCM has made nearly 1000 factually accurate allegations concerning Ligand, including claims of business, accounting and securities fraud, most borne out by subsequent events to an extraordinary degree, including Lemelson’s public commentary in July 2018, that Ligand’s shares were set to “collapse.” Ligand’s stock, consistent with LCM’s analysis, has plummeted as much as 63 percent since late September 2018 and traded near a two-year low of $98.56 per share as recently as January 16, 2019.

“We believe Ligand is a zero, and after covering our highly successful short positions in the company in both 2014 and 2015, we intend to continue to ride the current profitable short position all the way down,” Lemelson added.

Separately, Lemelson today also announced new or expanded commitments in:

• Bed Bath and Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY)
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE)
• Dicks Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS)
• Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC)