NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 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 GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF), Maplebear, Inc. d/b/a Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), and The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA). 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.
GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF)
Class Period: February 8, 2019 - August 3, 2023 (Common Stock Only)
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 25, 2024
The GrafTech class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) GrafTech’s manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico had for decades chronically contaminated neighboring communities with harmful carcinogenic gasses and particulate matter; (ii) GrafTech had signed agreements with local authorities committing itself to improving the environmental performance of its Monterrey facility, but repeatedly failed to honor these commitments; (iii) GrafTech had been repeatedly warned over an approximately 30-year period regarding its wanton disregard for the environment and health and well-being of people near its operations in Monterrey, Mexico; (iv) GrafTech’s operations in Monterrey, Mexico were not in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations; (v) GrafTech had failed to adequately remediate the environmental problems caused by the Monterrey facility following the 2019 administrative proceeding conducted by the Department of Sustainable Development of the State of Nuevo León; (vi) the government of Apodaca had sought intervention from the State of Nuevo León authorities to curtail and prevent the adverse environmental impacts and noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations caused by the Monterrey facility; (vii) GrafTech’s purported cost leadership was achieved in substantial part by failing to implement appropriate and effective environmental safeguards at its manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico; (viii) GrafTech’s capital expenditures and/or related operational projects were woefully insufficient to adequately address the harm that GrafTech’s operations in Monterrey, Mexico had inflicted on the environment and people within the neighboring communities; (ix) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that GrafTech’s manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico would be severely disrupted by government action or enforcement; and (x) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that its supplies of pin stock and graphite electrodes would be withdrawn and/or materially diminished, thereby materially harming GrafTech’s business, operations, reputation, and financial results.
For more information on the GrafTech class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/EAF
Maplebear, Inc. d/b/a Instacart (NASDAQ: CART)
Class Period: pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering conducted on or about September 19, 2023; and/or September 19, 2023 - October 1, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 25, 2024
Instacart provides online grocery shopping services to households in North America. The Company sells and delivers a range of products in the food, alcohol, consumer health, pet care, and ready-made meals categories, in addition to others. The Company offers its services through a mobile application and website, while also providing software-as-a-service solutions to retailers.
On August 25, 2023, Instacart filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on September 18, 2023 (the "Registration Statement").
On September 19, 2023, pursuant to the Registration Statement, Instacart's common stock began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("NASDAQ") under the ticker symbol "CART".
On September 20, 2023, Instacart filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (the "Prospectus" and, collectively with the Registration Statement, the "Offering Documents").
Pursuant to the Offering Documents, Instacart and other selling stockholders identified in the Prospectus sold 14.1 million and 7.9 million shares of the Company's common stock to the public, respectively, at the Offering price of $30.00 per share for total proceeds of approximately $400 million and $224 million to Instacart and the selling stockholders, respectively, after applicable underwriting discounts and commissions.
The complaint alleges that the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. In addition, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Instacart had overstated the extent to which online grocery shopping and delivery habits among consumers were accelerating; (ii) Instacart had downplayed the extent of the competition that it faced in the online grocery shopping and delivery market; (iii) accordingly, Defendants overstated the Company's post-IPO growth, business, and financial prospects; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On September 22, 2023, Reuters published an article noting, among other things, that Instacart's stock price was falling after "lukewarm analyst reports" indicated that the Company would struggle from heavy competition. For example, the article noted that "BTIG analyst Jake Fuller gave Instacart a 'neutral' rating and warned that the company faces heavy competition from DoorDash (DASH.N) and Uber Technologies (UBER.N) in the slowly expanding market of grocery delivery."
On this news, Instacart's stock price fell $0.65 per share, or 2.12%, to close at $30.00 per share on September 22, 2023.
Then, on October 2, 2023, investment research firm Gordon Haskett initiated coverage of Instacart with a "hold" rating, stating that it "ha[s] doubts that online grocery delivery adoption will continue to materially increase at a time when consumers are becoming increasingly cautious about spending", while similarly citing the competitive environment in the online grocery shopping and delivery market as a headwind to the Company's business.
On this news, Instacart's stock price fell $2.73 per share, or 9.2%, to close at $26.96 per share on October 2, 2023.
As of the time the complaint was filed, Instacart's common stock continues to trade below the $30.00 per share Offering price, damaging investors.
For more information on the Instacart class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CART
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)
Class Period: October 23, 2019 - January 24, 2024
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 1, 2024
Boeing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. Its Commercial Airplanes Segment is a leading producer of commercial aircraft and offers a family of commercial jetliners including its 737 MAX. Approximately five years ago, two Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes were involved in fatal crashes caused by malfunctions due to design flaws in the 737 MAX’s flight control software. The first crash occurred in October 2018 and the second crash occurred in March 2019 killing a total of 346 people and leading to 737 MAX planes being grounded from March 2019 to December 2020.
According to the filed complaint, the Class Period starts on October 23, 2019, when Defendants boasted that Boeing was making progress towards the safe return to service of the 737 MAX. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants continued to assure investors that Boeing was laser-focused on safety and quality. Defendants also claimed that Boeing did not make trade-offs between safety and profit, and that safety was Boeing’s priority.
Also according to the filed complaint, unbeknownst to investors, statements such as those above were false and misleading because Boeing failed to disclose that it had been prioritizing its profits over safety, which led to poor quality control standards in the production of its commercial aircrafts such as the 737 MAX, resulting in a heightened risk of manufacturing flaws which could render the Company’s new airplanes unsafe. This very risk had materialized during the Class Period. These false and misleading statements caused Boeing stock to trade at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
Also, according to the filed complaint, it took a near disaster to expose this heightened safety risk. The public first learned about it on January 5, 2024 when a panel called a “door plug” flew out of the side of a 737 MAX 9 (a variant of 737 MAX) during Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. This left a gaping hole in the plane’s main cabin, feet from where passengers were sitting. Over the next few weeks, investigations into the incident continued and problems with such door plugs on other 737 MAX planes were discovered including loose bolts holding the door plugs in place, further revealing the Company’s manufacturing and production missteps and leading to the grounding of many 737 MAX 9 planes.
In reaction to these and other related disclosures, Boeing’s stock price plummeted from $249.00 on January 5, 2024 to $201.88 on January 25, 2024, a $47.12 per share or 18.9% decline.
For more information on the Boeing class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/BA
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
