NEW YORK, Feb. 02, 2022 (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 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS), Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT), and Bright Health Group, Inc. (NYSE: BHG). 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.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)
Class Period: February 22, 2019 – February 20, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 8, 2022
On January 15, 2020, Barclays reported that First Solar had “seemingly been, in large part, priced-out of the U.S. downstream solar market” and that the Company had concealed its rapidly declining market share through misleading financial reporting by including projects in its Project Development pipeline that had actually been completed in prior years.
On this news, First Solar’s stock fell $4.03, or 7%, to close at $54.75 per share on January 15, 2020, thereby injuring investors.
Then, on February 6, 2020, Barclays stated that, in an attempt to gain back its market share, First Solar was “bidding more aggressively, leading to lower [Project Development contract] prices, and finally cutting into margins.”
On this news, First Solar’s stock fell $0.45 to close at $52.65 per share on February 6, 2020, thereby injuring investors further.
Then, on February 20, 2020, First Solar announced that it was exploring a sale of its Project Development Business. The Company also disclosed that it was experiencing “challenges with regard to certain aspects of the overall cost per watt” and that it would not be realizing its cost per watt goals.
On this news, First Solar’s stock fell $8.73, or 15%, to close at $50.59 per share on February 21, 2020, thereby injuring investors further.
For more information on the First Solar class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FSLR
FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS)
Class Period: February 1, 2018 – November 12, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 15, 2022
In September 2016, the Company, then known as First Cash Financial Services Inc., finalized its merger with pawnshop provider and payday lender Cash America International, Inc. (“Cash America”). Following the merger, the combined company changed its name to FirstCash Inc. Similarly, following a December 2021 merger with lending company American First Finance, the Company again changed its name to FirstCash Holdings, Inc.
The Military Lending Act (“MLA”) provides protections for active-duty service members and their dependents in connection with the extension of consumer credit. Among other protections, the MLA limits the interest rates that may be charged on consumer loans to active-duty armed forces members and their covered dependents to no more than 36%. Further, the MLA prohibits lenders from requiring covered parties to submit to arbitration, as well as imposing other limitations.
In November 2013, Cash America entered into a Consent Order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for making loans to covered members of the military or their dependents in violation of the MLA, violations relating to debt collection, failure to prevent or timely detect problematic conduct due to inadequate internal compliance, and failure to maintain required records (the “Order”). In the Order, Cash America agreed to cease and desist from the violations and to implement a plan designed to ensure its future compliance with the terms of the Order. The CFPB fined Cash America $5 million and ordered it to deposit $8 million into an account in order to provide redress to affected consumers.
In 2015, the Department of Defense expanded the MLA to cover more credit products, including pawn loans. Newly covered creditors, which included pawn brokers, had until October 3, 2016 to bring their operations into compliance with the new rules.
In response to the expansion of the MLA, which prohibited the Company from issuing loans with interest rates higher than 36%, FirstCash claimed that it was “unable to offer any of its current credit products, including pawn loans, to members of the U.S. military or their dependents.” The Company also claimed throughout the Class Period that it employed robust systems, policies, and procedures to ensure its regulatory compliance and adherence to applicable laws, rules and regulations governing its business, including the MLA.
Despite these assurances, unbeknownst to investors throughout the Class Period, FirstCash was engaged in widespread and systemic violations of the MLA and had made thousands of loans to active-duty service members and their dependents at usurious rates. On November 12, 2021, the CFPB filed a lawsuit alleging that FirstCash and its subsidiary, Cash America West, Inc., had violated the MLA by charging higher than the allowable 36% annual percentage rate on over 3,600 pawn loans to more than 1,000 active-duty service members and their dependents. The CFPB also alleged that FirstCash had violated the 2013 CFPB Order prohibiting future MLA violations, which remained in effect and applied to FirstCash following the September 2016 merger of the Company and First Cash America
As a result of these revelations, the price of FirstCash stock plummeted over $7 per share, or 8%, in a single day to close at $78.64 per share on November 12, 2021 on abnormally high trading volume. The stock continued to fall in subsequent days as the market digested the news, dropping another $10 per share by November 18, 2021.
For more information on the FirstCash class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FCFS
Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT)
Class Period: February 26, 2021 – December 27, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 25, 2022
Clarivate is an information services and analytics company that provides structured information and analytics for discovery, protection, and commercialization of scientific research, innovations, and brands.
On December 27, 2021, Clarivate disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that “[o]n December 22, 2021, Clarivate . . . concluded that the financial statements previously issued as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020, and the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, and September 30, 2021, should no longer be relied upon because of an error in such financial statements[.]” Specifically, Clarivate reported that “[t]he error relates to the treatment under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (‘GAAP’) relating to an equity plan included in the CPA Global business combination which was consummated on October 1, 2020 (‘the CPA Global Transaction’). In the affected financial statements, certain awards made by CPA Global under its equity plan were incorrectly included as part of the acquisition accounting for the CPA Global Transaction.”
On this news, Clarivate’s stock price declined by $1.70 per share, or approximately 6.92%, from $23.58 per share to close at $22.88 per share on December 28, 2021.
For more information on the Clarivate investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CLVT
Bright Health Group, Inc. (NYSE: BHG)
Class Period: June 24, 2021 IPO; June 24, 2021 – November 10, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 7, 2022
In June 2021, Bright Health completed its initial public offering (“IPO”), selling approximately 51 million shares of common stock for $18.00 per share.
On November 11, 2021, Bright Health reported its third quarter financial results, revealing earnings per share (“EPS”) of -$0.48 as calculated under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), missing consensus estimates by $0.31. The Company also reported a sharp rise in the Company’s medical cost ratio (“MCR”), advising investors that its MCR “for the third quarter of 2021 was 103.0%, including a 540 basis point unfavorable impact from COVID-19 related costs and a 900 basis point unfavorable impact primarily from a cumulative reduction in premium revenue due to an inability to capture risk adjustment on newly added lives.”
On this news, Bright Health’s stock fell $2.36, or 32%, to close at $4.94 per share on November 11, 2021, thereby injuring investors.
For more information on the Bright Health class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/BHG
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.
Alexandra B. Raymond, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
