NEW YORK, June 17, 2020 (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 Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), SCWorx Corp. (NADSAQ: WORX), Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALL), and Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE). 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.
Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN)
Class Period: November 4, 2019 to February 28, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 29, 2020
On February 18, 2020, Groupon reported fourth quarter 2019 sales of $612.3 million, a nearly 23% decline over the prior year period. The Company’s adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2019 was reported at $227.2 million, a significant miss from its November 2019 forecast of $270 million. Groupon also announced a “transformational plan to exit Goods” in North America by the third quarter and globally by the end of the year.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $1.35, or over 44%, to close at $1.70 per share on February 19, 2020.
The complaint, filed on April 28, 2020, 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, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company was experiencing fewer customer engagements in its Goods category; (2) that Groupon relied on its Goods category to drive its sales, especially during the holiday season; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company was likely to experience reduced sales; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
For more information on the Groupon class action go to: https://bespc.com/GRPN
SCWorx Corp. (NASDAQ: WORX)
Class Period: April 13, 2020 to April 17, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 29, 2020
On April 13, 2020, SCWorx announced that it had received a committed purchase order of two million COVID-19 rapid testing kits, “with provision for additional weekly orders of 2 million units for 23 weeks, valued at $35M per week.”
On this news, the Company’s share price increased by $9.77, to close at $12.02 per share on April 13, 2020.
On April 17, 2020, Hindenburg Research issued a report doubting the validity of the deal, calling it “completely bogus.” According to Hindenburg Research, the Covid-19 test supplier that SCWorx is buying from, Promedical, has a Chief Executive Officer “who formerly ran another business accused of defrauding its investors and customers” and “was also alleged to have falsified his medical credentials,” Promedical claimed to the FDA and regulators in Australia to be offering COVID-19 test kits manufactured by Wondfo, but “Wondfo put out a press release days ago stating that Promedical ‘fraudulently mispresented themselves’ as sellers of its Covid-19 tests and disavowed any relationship,” and the buyer that SCWorx claimed to have lined up does not appear to be “capable of handling hundreds of millions of dollars in orders.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $1.19, or more than 17%, over three consecutive trading sessions to close at $5.76 per share on April 21, 2020.
On April 22, 2020, the SEC halted trading of the Company’s stock. As of the filing of the complaint, trading remains halted.
The complaint, filed on April 29, 2020, 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, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that SCWorx’s supplier for COVID-19 tests had previously misrepresented its operations; (2) that SCWorx’s buyer was a small company that was unlikely to adequately support the purported volume of orders for COVID-19 tests; (3) that, as a result, the Company’s purchase order for COVID-19 tests had been overstated or entirely fabricated; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
For more information on the SCWorx class action go to: https://bespc.com/WORX
Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALL)
Class Period: March 5, 2019 to March 17, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 6, 2020
On March 2, 2020, Hallmark Financial announced that it had decided to exit from its Binding Primary Commercial Auto business and reported a $63.8 million loss development for prior underwriting years.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $2.10, or more than 14%, to close at $12.23 per share on March 3, 2020.
On March 11, 2020, Hallmark Financial disclosed that it had dismissed its independent auditor, BDO USA, LLP (“BDO”), due to a disagreement regarding estimates for reserves for unpaid losses, among other things.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $2.39, or over 29%, to close at $5.71 per share on March 12, 2020.
On March 17, 2020, Hallmark Financial filed with the SEC a letter from BDO in which BDO stated “BDO expanded significantly the scope of its audit on January 31, 2020, with respect to which a substantial portion of the requests had not been received and/or tested prior to our termination.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $0.08, or 2.5%, to close at $3.12 per share on March 18, 2020.
The complaint, filed on May 5, 2020, 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, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company lacked effective internal controls over accounting and financial reporting related to reserves for unpaid losses; (2) that the Company improperly accounted for reserve for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses related to its Binding Primary Commercial Auto business; (3) that, as a result, Hallmark Financial would be forced to report a $63.8 million loss development for prior underwriting years; (4) that, as a result, Hallmark Financial would exit from its Binding Primary Commercial Auto business; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
For more information on the Hallmark Financial class action go to: https://bespc.com/HALL
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE)
Class Period: January 1, 2018 to January 27, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 13, 2020
The complaint, filed on May 12, 2020, alleges that the Company inflated Grand Canyon’s financial results by using a non-profit independent entity, Grand Canyon University (“GCU”) as an off-balance-sheet entity to which Grand Canyon was able to funnel expenses and costs in exchange for a disproportionate amount of revenue. Defendants repeatedly made false and misleading statements to investors describing GCU as a “non-profit” and “independent” institution and misstating Grand Canyon’s role as a third-party provider of education services. As a result of Defendants’ misrepresentations, shares of Grand Canyon’s common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
Investors slowly began learning the truth of the relationship between the Company and GCU, culminating with Citron Research publishing a report on January 28, 2020 outlining the intricate and allegedly unlawful relationship between the Company and GCU.
Following the publication of the Citron Research report, Grand Canyon shares declined approximately 8% to close at $84.07 per share on January 28, 2020.
For more information on the Grand Canyon Education class action go to: https://bespc.com/LOPE
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. 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.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com