NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2022 (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 Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT), and Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), and Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD). 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.
Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT)
Class Period: September 1, 2020 – September 20, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
On September 20, 2022, after the market closed, Schmitt announced that its previous financial statements “should no longer be relied upon” and would require restating, estimating that “the errors were cumulatively material, resulting in an understatement of $330,203 in expenses for the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
On this news, Schmitt stock fell $0.68, or 17.9%, to close at $3.12 per share on September 21, 2022, hurting investors.
According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Schmitt Industries continuously downplayed its serious issues with internal controls; (2) Schmitt Industries’ financial statements from August 31, 2021, to the present included “certain errors”; (3) as a result, Schmitt Industries would need to restate its previously filed financial statements for certain periods; and (4) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
For more information on the Schmitt class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SMIT
Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ)
Class Period: November 4, 2021 and April 4, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
Block, formerly known as Square, Inc., is a technology company that creates financial service tools. Block’s segments include Square, which offers financial tools for sellers, and Cash App, which provides financial tools for individuals.
On April 4, 2022, Block announced that a former employee had improperly downloaded certain reports of Block’s subsidiary, Cash App Investing, on December 10, 2021. The information in the reports included full customer names and brokerage account numbers, as well as portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings, and/or stock trading activity. As many as 8.2 million Cash App Investing customers were affected. Prior to April 4, 2022, Block had not disclosed this information to shareholders.
On this news, Block’s stock price fell by more than 6%, damaging investors.
The Block class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period failed to disclose that: (i) Block lacked adequate protocols restricting access to customer sensitive information; (ii) as a result, a former employee was able to download certain reports of Block’s subsidiary, Cash App investing, containing full customer names and brokerage account numbers, as well as brokerage portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings, and/or stock trading activity; and (iii) consequently, Block was reasonably likely to suffer significant damage including reputational harm.
For more information on the Block class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SQ
Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR)
Class Period: May 13, 2022 – October 4, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
On May 13, 2022, Elon Musk tweeted that a merger with Twitter was “temporarily on hold.” Three separate notices terminating the merger between July 8, 2022 and September 9, 2022 falsely claimed that Twitter had breached the terms of the merger agreement by not giving Musk documents about Spam.
On October 4, 2022, less than two weeks before he was set to go to trial in Delaware over the merger, Musk stated he would proceed with the Twitter buyout at the original $54.20 price, abandoning his prior positions and capitulating to Twitter. The announcement shocked the stock market and caused Twitter’s stock price to increase by 22%. Twitter stock and bondholders who sold their Twitter securities earlier in the year based on Musk’s false statements were damaged by selling at prices artificially depressed by Musk’s false statements.
The lawsuit charges that Musk violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false statements about his purchase of Twitter, Inc., including termination notices that falsely claimed that Twitter had breached terms of the merger agreement and that a Material Adverse Event (“MAE”) had occurred. The complaint alleges that Musk’s statements were false because Musk was not entitled to due diligence and had in fact waived due diligence; Musk was well aware of the problem of bots and spam on Twitter, and there were no legally justifiable reasons for Musk to terminate the Merger.
For more information on the Twitter class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TWTR
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD)
Class Period: April 14, 2022 – September 28, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 19, 2022
On September 29, 2022, Rite Aid announced a $252.2 million charge for the impairment of goodwill related to the Company’s Elixir subsidiary. On an earnings call held later in the day, Rite Aid’s Chief Financial Officer, Matt Schroeder, explained that the large impairment charge was triggered by a change in Rite Aid’s estimate of lives covered by Elixir for 2023 based on the latest selling season.
On this news, Rite Aid’s stock price fell $1.97 per share, or 28.02%, to close at $5.06 per share on September 29, 2022.
For more information on the Rite Aid class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/RAD
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.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
