NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 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 Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLS), Party City Holdco, Inc. (OTC: PRTY, PRTYQ), and Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HAYW). 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.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLS)

Class Period: January 28, 2021 – January 28, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 2, 2023

Apellis is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

One of Apellis’s leading therapeutic treatments, “SYFOVRE,” is an intravitreal pegcetacoplan injection that is the first and only approved therapy for geographic atrophy (“GA”), a leading cause of blindness. SYFOVRE is designed to provide comprehensive control of the complement cascade, part of the body’s immune system. In February 2023, SYFOVRE was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the United States for the treatment of GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration.

The Class Period begins on January 28, 2021, the day of Apellis’s Virtual Investor Event wherein Apellis gave an online presentation to shareholders titled, “Pegcetacoplan: Advancing the First Potential Treatment for Geographic Atrophy (GA),” which highlighted its ongoing Phase 3 “DERBY and OAKS” clinical trials and its completed Phase 2 “FILLY” clinical trial. In its presentation to shareholders, Apellis touted the efficacy of using pegcetacoplan in patients with GA, including that the Phase 2 FILLY trial showed decreased lesion growth and that safety was “in line with other studies of intravitreally administered agents.”

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly represented that SYFOVRE “demonstrated a favorable safety profile” with minimal adverse effects and “no events of retinal vasculitis or retinal vein occlusion” observed.

Notwithstanding Defendants’ claims regarding the safety of SYFOVRE, investors began to learn the truth on July 15, 2023, when the American Society of Retina Specialists (“ASRS”) published a letter highlighting concerns with SYFOVRE. Specifically, the ASRS indicated that physicians have reported cases of eye inflammation in patients treated with SYFOVRE, including six instances of occlusive retinal vasculitis, a type of inflammation that blocks blood flow through the vessels that feed the retina and potentially results in blindness. On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined $32.04 per share, or nearly 38%, from a close of $84.50 per share on July 14, 2023, to close at $52.46 per share on July 17, 2023.

After the market closed on July 17, 2023, Apellis issued a statement addressing the concerns raised by ASRS regarding vasculitis and SYFOVRE, explaining that, of the six occurrences of vasculitis following SYFOVRE treatment, “two of the events were confirmed as occlusive, one was confirmed as non-occlusive, and the remaining three were undetermined based on limited information and lack of imaging.” Apellis further acknowledged that “[t]he Company is continuing to conduct a thorough investigation of each of the events, working closely with the [ASRS] and several external specialists.” On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined an additional $12.46 per share, or 23.75%, to close at $40.00 per share on July 18, 2023.

Then, prior to the open of the market on July 20, 2023, Wedbush downgraded Apellis’s price target by more than 50%, from $86.00 per share to $40.00 per share. On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined $6.25 per share, or approximately 15%, from a close of $40.49 per share on July 19, 2023, to close at $34.24 per share on July 20, 2023.

Finally, on July 29, 2023, Apellis provided an update on the company’s review of the six events of retinal vasculitis reported by the ASRS concerning SYFOVRE treatments. In the update, Apellis confirmed a seventh event of retinal vasculitis resulting from SYFOVRE treatment as determined by Apellis’s internal safety committee and external retina/uveitis specialists. Apellis also stated that the company is evaluating an eighth reported event of retinal vasculitis, which Apellis had not yet confirmed. On this news, the price of Apellis common stock declined $6.27 per share, or 19%, from a close of $32.02 per share on July 28, 2023, to close at $25.75 per share on July 31, 2023.

The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about the company’s business and operations. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the design of SYFOVRE’s clinical trials was insufficient to identify incidents of retinal vasculitis in patients receiving SYFOVRE injections; (2) as a result, the commercial adoption of SYFOVRE was subject to significant, unknown risk factors; and (3) therefore, Defendants’ statements about the company’s business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis.

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

Party City Holdco, Inc. (OTC: PRTY, PRTYQ)

Class Period: November 8, 2022 – June 9, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 2, 2023

After trading on January 17, 2023, Party City filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.

Following this news, Party City's stock price declined by 67% over a two-day span from a closing price of $0.374 on January 17, 2023, to $0.121 on January 19, 2023, a decline of $0.253.

Then, on June 9, 2023, Ernst & Young LLP resigned as the Company's auditor due to a disagreement about Party City's decision not to include a "going concern" warning in its quarterly filing on Form 10-Q for the third quarter 2022.

Following this news, Party City's stock price declined by 22% over the next three trading days from a closing price of $0.046 on June 9, 2023 to $0.036 on June 14, 2023.

According to the lawsuit, throughout he Class Period, the defendants: (1) affirmatively misrepresented that its capital resources “will be adequate to meet our liquidity needs for the next 12 months”; (2) omitted that there was substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; (3) downplayed the nature and extent of the Company’s then existing liquidity problems; (4) omitted that the Company’s existing credit facilities were insufficient to satisfy its operational needs and that it was unable to obtain additional loans in the normal course of business and; (5) omitted that there was a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

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

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HAYW)

Class Period: October 2, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 2, 2022 – July 27, 2022

On July 28, 2022, Hayward Holdings announced financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, shocking analysts and investors by revealing that Hayward Holdings was expecting its channel partners to reduce their inventory on hand by approximately four to six weeks in the second half of 2022. As a result, Hayward Holdings reduced its 2022 guidance to reflect massive inventory reduction in the second half of the year. Notably, during an earnings call held that same day, defendant CEO Kevin Holleran admitted that the inventory bottleneck traced back to inventory decisions made “at the end of 2021” – i.e., before the Class Period.

As a result, the price of Hayward Holdings common stock fell nearly 24%, damaging investors.

As the Hayward Holdings class action lawsuit alleges, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Hayward Holdings and its management had engaged in a channel-stuffing scheme designed to artificially boost Hayward Holdings’ short-term sales and earnings; (ii) Hayward Holdings had flooded its channel partners with inventory that they did not want or need at a level that far outpaced then-existing consumer demand; (iii) Hayward Holdings’ channel partners were suffering from an inventory glut as a result of the channel-stuffing scheme that would require a massive de-stocking in the second half of 2022; (iv) Hayward Holdings’ channel-stuffing scheme had cannibalized future sales, materially impairing Hayward Holdings’ ability to sell to its customers; (v) the demand for pool equipment had slowed down, which, combined with flooding channel partners with more inventory, led to an inventory glut and the need for these channel partners to reduce inventory levels; and (vi) as a result of the above, Hayward Holdings’ projected 2022 financial results were not achievable and lacked a reasonable basis in fact.

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

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