Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against TAL, Marathon, GWG, and Target, and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

NEW YORK, April 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL), Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), GWG Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GWGHQ), and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL)

Class Period: June 14, 2022 - March 14, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 30, 2023

According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company was still providing K9 Academic AST Services; and (2) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times.

For more information on the TAL class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TAL

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA)

Class Period: May 10, 2021 - February 28, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 30, 2023

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company overstated the efficacy of its disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii) as a result, the Company’s revenues and cost of revenue were materially misstated during the Class Period; (iii) the foregoing, once revealed, was reasonably likely to have a material negative impact on the Company’s financial condition; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On February 28, 2023, Marathon issued a press release “announc[ing] . . . that it has cancelled its webcast and conference call for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022, initially scheduled for today, February 28, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, and will postpone the publication of its corresponding financial results.” That same day, Marathon disclosed receipt of a letter from the SEC relating to accounting errors in the Company’s previously issued financial statements. The Company advised investors that the “statements contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and the previously issued unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the interim periods in 2022 and 2021 as contained in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2022, June 30, 2021 and 2022 and September 30, 2021 and 2022 . . . should no longer be relied upon” and will be restated.

Also on February 28, 2023, market analyst Seeking Alpha commented on Marathon’s announcement, stating that “[t]he company said its method for calculating the impairment of digital assets, chiefly bitcoin [], on a daily basis using a standard cutoff time wasn't in compliance with a requirement that calls for the intraday low price to be used,” and, as such, “Marathon [] now estimates that both its revenue and cost of revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021 were understated. Revenue [. . .], energy, hosting and other, are expected to increase in the restated 2021 numbers.” 

On this news, Marathon’s stock price fell $0.59 per share, or 8.31%, to close at $6.51 per share on March 1, 2023.

As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.

For more information on the Marathon class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/MARA

GWG Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GWGHQ) (bonds)

Class Period: December 23, 2017 - April 20, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 30, 2023

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose material adverse facts about GWG’s business, operations and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that (i) they intended to, and did, misappropriate GWG assets, (ii) GWG’s life insurance investment business had failed, and (iii) GWG could only repay prior investors by issuing increasing amounts of securities to new investors. In essence, Defendants had turned GWG into a Ponzi scheme.

For more information on the GWG class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/GWGHQ

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT)

Class Period: August 18, 2021 - May 17, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 30, 2023

Prior to the Class Period, Target experienced unprecedented double-digit growth in 2020 as consumers increased spending with funds provided from stimulus checks and shifted their spending away from services in favor of goods. In its 2Q 2021 earnings call, Target attributed its success to its “durable, flexible” business strategy, which it stated allowed the Company to stay nimble and quickly respond to its customers’ rapidly shifting preferences. Target touted its “balanced multi-category assortment” as a “key driver of flexibility” and a unique advantage that allowed the Company to “serve our guests, even when their wants and needs are changing rapidly.” To ensure that its assortment stayed in balance in a volatile environment, Target reviewed the data that it gathered from its 100+ million-member loyalty program, Target Circle, as well as other sources, on a weekly basis to gain insights and inform its merchandising decisions. Because these preferences were often changing “week by week,” these insights were essential to allow Target to “optimize [its] assortment.”

However, despite Target’s runaway success in 2020, the Company’s revenue was constrained by Target’s inability to keep its shelves fully stocked. In the first half of 2021, though inventory had meaningfully improved compared to the prior year, Target was still experiencing some headwinds which prevented the Company from maintaining optimal inventory. On August 18, 2021, during a Company earnings call where Defendants discussed second quarter 2021 results, Target attributed its inventory struggles to two pandemic-related factors: (1) unexpectedly greater demand due to changing consumer behavior; and (2) vendor constraints resulting in less product for Target to replenish. To mitigate the risk that replenishment of in-demand goods could take longer than usual going into the second half of 2021, Target announced during that earnings call that it had been ordering larger upfront quantities in advance of season to ensure that shelves were stocked with products consumers wanted, when they wanted them.

At the same time Target announced its early purchasing strategy, Defendants stated during the August 18, 2021, earnings call that consumer shopping preferences continued to shift. For example, while demand for home and hardline products—two of Target’s core product categories—skyrocketed in 2020, the Company was now noticing a softening in demand for those products. Nevertheless, Target falsely assured investors that its “unique multi-category assortment” enabled the Company “to flex between patterns in consumer behavior changes,” and that its inventory “perfectly positioned [Target] to serve our guests’ evolving wants and needs.”

As recently as March 1, 2022, Defendants continued to boast about Target’s “balanced” assortment and how the Company was “leveraging guest insights to enhance our assortment” and adapt to the rapidly changing consumer trends.

However, contrary to Defendants’ statements touting the flexibility of Target’s purported “durable” business model and “balanced assortment,” Defendants were aware that the Target’s strategy of buying early had resulted in the Company over-purchasing goods that were no longer in demand. As early as August 2021, Target’s “multi-category” inventory became out-off-balance and overweight in home and hardline products — “bigger, bulkier products like furniture, TVs, and more” — due to waning demand. Target’s assortment problem only continued to grow throughout the Class Period as consumers began to “refocus[] their spending” away from home and hardline goods and into experiences.

By May 18, 2022, Defendants would admit when reporting on results for the first quarter of 2022 that contrary to their public statements, Target’s “durable, flexible strategy” was thwarted by its practice of ordering inventory before it was needed, resulting in overstocked, unsellable inventory taking up valuable store shelf space and leaving Target unable to quickly pivot to meet changing consumer preferences as represented. This resulted in Target’s inventory increasing by nearly $1.1 billion over the previous quarter and overweight in “bigger, bulkier” hardline and home products that the Company was now forced to markdown to “make room for fast-growing categories.” As a result, Target’s revenue and gross margin declined nearly 19% and 4.3%, respectively, for the quarter, and Defendants stated they expected the excess inventory to negatively affect earnings into the next quarter.

The price of Target’s common stock had been artificially inflated by Defendants’ misrepresentations about the Company’s “balanced multi-category assortment,” insight into consumer behavior, and ability to respond to shifting trends throughout the Class Period. Upon the news that Target’s sales growth was lower than expected and that Target was unable to sustain the more moderate growth the Company had anticipated just a few weeks earlier, the price of Target’s common stock plummeted as the artificial inflation was removed from the price.

On this news, Target’s stock price declined $53.67 per share, or nearly 25%, from a closing price of $215.28 per share on May 17, 2022, to a closing price of $161.61 per share on May 18, 2022.

For more information on the Target class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TGT

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com