Appian Corp shares soared and Pegasystems Inc shares tumbled on Tuesday after a Virginia jury ordered Pegasystems to pay its software rival $2.04 billion in damages for misappropriating trade secrets.
The damages award issued on Monday by the Fairfax County Circuit Court jury followed a seven-week trial, and maybe the largest in Virginia’s history, Appian said.
Shares of Appian rose $16.60, or 38.6 percent, to $59.62 in Tuesday trading.
Pegasystems shares fell $13.68, or 20.7 percent, to $52.25 after earlier falling to $36.50, their lowest since January 2017.
Appian, based in McLean, Virginia, alleged in its May 2020 lawsuit that Pegasystems retained an employee of a government contractor from 2012 to 2014 to access its software, helping it to improve its own products and better train its sales force.
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