NEW YORK, July 15, 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 Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (NADSAQ: CEMI), Casper Sleep, Inc. (NYSE: CSPR), Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP), and PlayAGS, Inc. (NYSE: AGS). 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.
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEMI)
Class Period: March 12, 2020 to June 16, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 17, 2020
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chembio focused on the development and commercialization of a serological or antibody test. Chembio’s antibody test was one of the first antibody tests authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
On June 16, 2020, the FDA issued a press release disclosing that it had revoked the Company’s Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) for the Company’s DPP COVID-19 Igm/IgG System “due to performance concerns with the accuracy of the test.”
On this news, Chembio shares declined from a closing price on June 16, 2020 of $9.93 per share to close at $3.89 per share on June 17, 2020, a decline of $6.04 per share, or over 60%.
The complaint, filed on June 18, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive the market and a course of conduct that artificially inflated Chembio’s stock price and operated as a fraud or deceit on Class Period purchasers of Chembio stock by misrepresenting the efficacy of the Company’s DPP COVID-19 test. Defendants achieved this by making false statements about Chembio’s DPP COVID-19 test, while they knew or at least recklessly disregarded that there were material performance concerns with its DPP COVID-19 test. Later, however, when defendants’ prior misrepresentations were disclosed and became apparent to the market, the price of Chembio stock fell precipitously as the prior artificial inflation came out of Chembio’ stock price.
For more information on the Chembio securities class action go to: https://bespc.com/CEMI
Casper Sleep, Inc. (NYSE: CSPR)
Class Period: Securities purchased pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s February 7, 2020 initial public offering (the “IPO” or “Offering”).
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 18, 2020
In the IPO, defendants sold 8.35 million shares of Casper common stock at $12 per share, generating over $100 million in gross proceeds. Shortly after the IPO, Casper announced downward gross margin trends and substantially impaired operations as a result of an increasingly dire cash flow situation
On April 21, 2020, Casper announced that it was taking significant actions to improve its cash position and business model, notwithstanding the fact that the Company had raised more than $100 million in gross offering proceeds from the IPO less than three months previously. The Company stated that it was reducing the size of its global operations and sales team and completely winding down its European operations, leading to the loss of 21% of its entire corporate workforce globally. These drastic measures were necessitated by the Company’s ballooning losses and deteriorating cash position. The Company also stated that defendant Macfarlane, the Company’s CFO and COO, was resigning – an extraordinary move so soon after the IPO.
Also on May 12, 2020, Casper filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q in which it stated that its cash and cash equivalents had only increased $48.5 million during the quarter, despite the fact that the Company received over $88 million in net cash proceeds from the IPO. The Form 10-Q stated that during the quarter Casper had suffered over $40 million in negative cash flows from operating and investing activities. As the Company had only $116 million in cash on hand as of March 31, 2020, at this rate Casper was on track to run out of cash entirely within a year.
As of market close on June 19, 2020, Casper stock was trading at just $8.78 per share, over 26% below the IPO price.
The complaint, filed on June 22, 2020 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. Specifically, the lawsuit claims the Offering Documents made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Casper’s profit margins were actually declining, rather than growing; (2) Casper was changing an important distribution partner, costing it 130 basis points of gross margin in the first quarter of 2020 alone; (3) Casper was holding a glut of old and outdated mattress inventory that it was selling at steeply discounted clearance prices, further impairing the Company’s profitability; (4) Casper was suffering accelerating losses, further placing its ability to achieve positive cash flows and profitability out of reach; (5) Casper’s core operations were not profitable, but were causing the Company to suffer over $40 million in negative cash flows during the first quarter of 2020 alone and doubling its quarterly net loss year over year; (6) as a result of the foregoing, Casper’s ability to achieve profitability, implement its growth initiatives, and expand internationally had been misrepresented in the Offering Documents, as the Company needed to shutter its European operations, halt all international expansion, jettison over one fifth of its global corporate workforce, and significantly curtail new store openings in order to avoid an imminent cash and liquidity crisis, let alone achieve positive operating cash flows; and (7) as a result of the foregoing, Casper’s revenue growth rate was not sustainable and had not positioned the Company to achieve profitability.
For more information on the Casper class action go to: https://bespc.com/CSPR
Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP)
Class Period: August 8, 2017 to June 10, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 18, 2020
On June 10, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (“Governor Cuomo”) announced that the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) had filed administrative charges against Endo in connection with its role in the opioid crisis, alleging that Endo fraudulently misrepresented the safety and efficacy of its opioid drugs while minimizing the risk of addiction and other ill effects. That same day, DFS issued its own press release specifically announcing that it “has filed charges and initiated administrative proceedings against Endo . . . and its subsidiaries, [EHS], [EPI], and [PPCI]” in connection with “DFS’ ongoing investigation into the entities that created and perpetuated the opioid crisis”; that “[t]he DFS’ statement of charges alleges that, like other opioid Manufactures, Endo . . . [k]nowingly furthered a false narrative to legitimize opioids as appropriate for broad treatment of pain by downplaying their long-known addictive nature and risks”; and that Endo and its subsidiaries “[m]isrepresented the safety and efficacy of opioids, without legitimate scientific substantiation,” and “[d]eployed a large sales force to target healthcare providers directly with these misrepresentations.”
On this news, Endo’s Ordinary share price fell $0.66 per share, or 14.63%, to close at $3.85 per share on June 10, 2020.
The complaint, filed on June 19, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational, and compliance policies. Specifically, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (i) the full scope of Endo’s and/or its subsidiaries’ contributions to the opioid crisis, including, but not limited to, their opioid products’ disproportionately negative impact on New York, one of the most populous states in the U.S., as well as the fraud that defendants perpetrated on the New York insurance market; (ii) part of that contribution to the crisis included Endo publishing and disseminating false information to health care providers regarding the risks and benefits of opioids; (iii) that the foregoing, once revealed, was foreseeably likely to subject Endo and/or its subsidiaries to increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement, as well as significant financial and/or reputational harm, particularly with respect to New York; and (iv) that, as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the Endo securities class action go to: https://bespc.com/ENDP-3
PlayAGS, Inc. (NYSE: AGS)
Class Period: August 2, 2018 to August 7, 2019
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 24, 2020
PlayAGS is a designer and supplier of electronic gaming machines. It operates with three business segments: (i) electronic gaming machines (“EGM”), which comprises 95% of the Company’s revenue and provides 380 game titles on EGM cabinets; (ii) table products, including live felt table games, side bet offerings, progressives, signage, and other ancillary table game equipment; and (iii) interactive, which offers social casino games including online versions of the Company’s game titles.
On August 7, 2019, PlayAGS reported a net loss of $7.6 million for second quarter 2019, which included a $3.5 million impairment to goodwill and $1.3 million impairment to intangible assets of the Company’s iGaming reporting unit, due to extended regulatory timelines which delayed revenues.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $8.99, or nearly 52%, to close at $8.31 per share on August 8, 2019.
The complaint, filed on June 25, 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 PlayAGS was experiencing challenges in its business in Oklahoma; (2) that, as a result, the Company’s recurring revenue would be negatively impacted; (3) that PlayAGS was experiencing challenges in its Interactive business segment, including delays in securing regulatory approvals and relevant licenses; (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, PlayAGS was reasonably likely to record a goodwill impairment; 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 PlayAGS class actin go to: https://bespc.com/AGS
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