Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Direct Digital, Hertz, and Humana and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

NEW YORK, June 12, 2024 (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 Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRCT), Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ), and Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM). 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.

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRCT)

Class Period: April 17, 2023 - March 25, 2024 (Common Stock Only)

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 22, 2024

The suit alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material facts, including that: (1) the Company’s transition toward a “cookie-less” advertising environment was accelerated and would impact revenue in 2024; (2) the Company’s alternatives to third-party cookies, including planned investments in AI and machine learning to build on first-party data sources, would not be viable alternatives to third-party cookies and similar tracking technologies; (3) the Company did not have adequate solutions to address the impending phase out of third-party cookies by Google; and (4) based on the foregoing, Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the effectiveness of Direct Digital’s platform and related financial results, growth, and prospects.

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

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ)

Class Period: April 27, 2023 - April 24, 2024

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 30, 2024

Hertz is a vehicle rental company that offers both internal combustion engine ("ICE") vehicle and electric vehicle ("EV") rental services from Company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations across various countries. The Company also sells vehicles and value-added services.

With hundreds of thousands of vehicles in its rental fleet, accurately measuring vehicle depreciation—i.e., the decrease in value of the various vehicles in its fleet over time—is critical to Hertz's profitability.

In October 2021, Hertz announced that, "[a]s consumer interest in [EVs] skyrockets," the Company made "a significant investment to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world[,]" including "an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022 and new EV charging infrastructure across the company's global operations." The Company thereafter entered into multiple strategic partnerships with cities and others to promote its EV rental business, and concurrently continued to expand its EV fleet.

The Complaint alleges that, 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) Hertz had downplayed the financial impact of vehicle depreciation, and/or overstated its ability to track and manage vehicle depreciation; (ii) demand for Hertz's EVs was not as strong as Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) Hertz had too many vehicles, particularly EVs, in its fleet to remain profitable; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Hertz was likely to incur significant losses on the disposition of both its ICE vehicles and EVs; (v) all the foregoing was likely to, and did, have a significant negative impact on Hertz's financial results; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On January 11, 2024, Hertz revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would sell approximately 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of its global EV fleet, "to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs." According to the Company, this would "result in the recognition, during the fourth quarter of 2023, of approximately $245 million of incremental net depreciation expense related to the sale[,]" which "represents the write down of the EVs' carrying values as of December 31, 2023 to their fair values, less related expenses associated with the disposition of the vehicles." Hertz further advised that "Adjusted Corporate EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 will be negatively impacted by the incremental net depreciation expense associated with the EV sales plan, and further burdened by higher depreciation expense in the ordinary course as residual values for vehicles generally fell throughout the quarter greater than previously expected."

On this news, Hertz's stock price fell $0.40 per share, or 4.28%, to close at $8.95 per share on January 11, 2024.

On March 15, 2024, Hertz announced that Defendant Stephen M. Scherr ("Scherr") would resign from his roles as the Company's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chairman of the Board of Directors by the end of the month, and that the Company had appointed Wayne Gilbert West as its new CEO.

Then, on April 25, 2024, Hertz issued a press release announcing its first quarter 2024 results. Among other items, Hertz reported adjusted diluted earnings-per-share ("EPS") of -$1.28 for the quarter, well short of the consensus estimate of -$0.43, and far worse than the adjusted diluted EPS of $0.39 that the Company had achieved in the same period the year prior. In discussing these results, Hertz revealed that vehicle depreciation in the quarter increased $588 million, or $339 on a per-unit basis, primarily driven by deterioration in estimated forward residual values and disposition losses on ICE vehicles compared to gains in the prior-year quarter. The Company also disclosed that, of the $339 per unit increase, $119 was related to EVs held for sale. Moreover, Hertz reported a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down EVs held for sale that were remaining in inventory at quarter-end to fair value and to recognize the disposition losses on EVs sold in the period.

On this news, Hertz's stock price fell $1.12 per share, or 19.31%, to close at $4.68 per share on April 25, 2024.

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

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM)

Class Period: July 27, 2022 - January 24, 2024 (Common Stock Only)

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 2, 2024

The Humana class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that defendants downplayed pressures on Humana’s adjusted earnings-per-share resulting from increased medical costs associated with pent-up demand for healthcare procedures (especially as COVID concerns abated) which, contrary to Humana’s assurances, resulted in increased utilization rates and costs.

The Humana class action lawsuit further alleges that on June 13, 2023, UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of Humana’s principal health insurer competitors, revealed that it was seeing “higher levels” of outpatient care activity and suggested that this higher utilization was due to “pent-up demand or delayed demand being satisfied.” On this news, the price of Humana common stock fell more than 11%, according to the complaint.

Then, on June 16, 2023, the Humana class action lawsuit further alleges that Humana reported “higher than anticipated non-inpatient utilization trends, predominately in the categories of emergency room, outpatient surgeries, and dental services, as well as inpatient trends that have been stronger than anticipated in recent weeks, diverging from historical seasonality patterns.” On this news, the price of Humana common stock fell, according to the complaint.

The Humana class action lawsuit further alleges that on January 18, 2024, Humana revealed that its benefits expense ratio had increased to approximately 91.4% for the fourth quarter of 2023 and approximately 88% for the full year 2023. On this news, the price of Humana common stock fell nearly 8%, according to the complaint.

Finally, on January 25, 2024, the complaint further alleges that Humana announced a loss of $4.42 per share for the fourth quarter of 2023 that was “driven by higher than anticipated inpatient utilization . . . and a further increase in non-inpatient trends,” and stated that it expected the higher level of medical costs would “persist throughout 2024.” On this news, the price of Humana common stock fell nearly 12%, according to the Humana class action lawsuit.

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

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