NEW YORK, June 13, 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 Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), Arqit Quantum, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQQ, ARQQW), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). 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.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX)
Class Period: October 19, 2021 – April 19, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 5, 2022
On January 20, 2022, after the market closed, Netflix reported that it “slightly over-forecasted paid net adds in Q4,” adding 8.3 million subscribers compared to the 8.5 million forecast. The Company also stated that, despite “healthy” retention and engagement, it only expected to add 2.5 million net subscribers during first quarter 2022, below the 4.0 million net adds in the prior year period.
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $110.75, or 21.7%, to close at $397.50 per share on January 21, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Then, on April 19, 2022, after the market closed, Netflix reported that it lost 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2022, compared to prior guidance expecting the Company to add 2.5 million net subscribers. The Company cited the slowing revenue growth to four factors, including account sharing with an estimated 100 million additional households and competition with other streaming services.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $122.42, or over 35%, to close at $226.19 per share on April 20, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The complaint filed in this class action 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 Netflix was exhibiting slower acquisition growth due to, among other things, account sharing by customers and increased competition from other streaming services; (2) that the Company was experiencing difficulties retaining customers; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company was losing subscribers on a net basis; (4) that, as a result, the Company’s financial results were being adversely affected; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and/or misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
For more information on the Netflix class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/NFLX
Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN)
Class Period: June 15, 2020 – April 6, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 5, 2022
On April 6, 2022, Hindenburg Research ("Hindenburg") published a report addressing Mullen, entitled "Mullen Automotive: Yet Another Fast Talking EV Hustle", calling the Company among the worst electric vehicle ("EV") hustles that Hindenburg has seen in a crowded field of contenders such as Nikola Corporation and Lordstown Motors Corp. Among other things, Hindenburg observed that "[d]espite only spending ~$3 million in R&D in 2021, Mullen claims its solid-state battery technology is on track for commercialization in 18 to 24 months, putting it [a]head of every major technology and automaker in the industry who have collectively invested billions on solving the problem." The Hindenburg report also alleged that the Chief Executive Officer of EV Grid, Inc. ("EV Grid"), which makes batteries and battery management systems for vehicles, refuted a press release issued by Mullen regarding test results for its battery, stating "[w]e never would have said that" and "[w]e never did say it and certainly wouldn't have said it based on the results of testing that battery." Additionally, the Hindenburg report alleged that Mullen's claims to be in a joint venture with NextMetals Ltd. ("NextMetals") to create a solid-state battery were refuted by a NextMetals senior executive who said it "‘was a nonstarter' and ‘didn't exist.'"
On this news, Mullen's stock price fell $0.07 per share, or 2.57%, to close at $2.65 per share on April 6, 2022.
According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1) Mullen overstates its ability and timeline regarding production; (2) Mullen overstates its deals with business partners, including Qiantu Motors; (3) Mullen overstates its battery technology and capabilities; (4) Mullen overstates its ability to sell its branded products; (5) Net Element did not conduct proper due diligence into Mullen Technologies; (6) the Dragonfly K50 was not (solely) delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (7) as a result, defendants’ public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
For more information on the Mullen class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/MULN
Arqit Quantum, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQQ, ARQQW)
Class Period: September 7, 2021 – April 18, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 5, 2022
Arqit is a cybersecurity company that purports to be developing quantum encryption technology to secure against cyber-attacks.
The Company, headquartered in London, England, went public in September 2021 when it merged with Centricus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: CENH, CENHW, CENHU), a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
On April 18, 2022, an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled “British Encryption Startup Arqit Overstates Its Prospects Former Staff and Others Say” raised significant issues about the Company and its prospects. The article notes that when the Company went public last fall, the Company’s Founder and Chief Executive David Williams told investors Arqit had an “impressive backlog” of revenue and was ready “for hyperscale growth.” However, the article also states that “Arqit has given investors an overly optimistic view of its future revenue and the readiness and workability of its signature encryption system, according to former employees and other people familiar with the company, and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.”
Following today’s news, the price of Arqit stock dropped $2.57 per share, over 17%, to close at $12.49 per share.
According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period and in the Proxy Statement issued in connection to the Merger made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1) Arqit’s proposed encryption technology would require widespread adoption of new protocols and standards of for telecommunications; (2) British cybersecurity officials questioned the viability of Arqit’s proposed encryption technology in a meeting in 2020; (3) the British government was not an Arqit customer but, rather, providing grants to Arqit; (4) Arqit had little more than an early-stage prototype of its encryption system at the time of the Merger; and (5) as a result, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
For more information on the Arqit class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ARQQ
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Class Period: February 1, 2019 – April 5, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 5, 2022
Amazon is a multinational technology company that engages primarily in the businesses of e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
On the Company’s Amazon.com e-commerce platform, Amazon sells both third-party merchandise and Amazon’s own private-label products. As the owner and operator of the Amazon.com e-commerce platform, Amazon has access to certain non-public data of the third-party sellers that use the Amazon.com platform.
On or around June 3, 2019, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary initiated a bipartisan investigation into the state of competition online. The investigation, led by the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law (the “Subcommittee”), examined the business practices and market dominance of Facebook, Google, Apple, and, of particular relevance, Amazon (the “Subcommittee Investigation”).
In the course of the Subcommittee Investigation, the Subcommittee held several oversight hearings in which various officers of the above referenced companies, including their respective Chief Executive Officers, offered witness testimony on topics such as the effect of market power on the press, innovation, and privacy, and the market dominance of the firms under investigation. After each of the hearings, members of the Subcommittee submitted questions for the record to the witnesses.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Amazon engaged in anticompetitive conduct in its private-label business practices, including giving Amazon products preference over those of its competitors and using third-party sellers’ non-public data to compete with them; (ii) the foregoing exposed Amazon to a heightened risk of regulatory scrutiny and/or enforcement actions; (iii) Amazon’s revenues derived from its private-label business were in part the product of impermissible conduct and thus unsustainable; and (iv) as a result, the Defendants’ public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading.
On March 9, 2022, media outlets reported that the House Judiciary Committee had requested that the U.S. Department of Justice open a criminal investigation into Amazon and certain of its executives for allegedly lying to Congress about its business practices during the course of the Subcommittee Investigation.
In response, Amazon asserted that there was “no factual basis” for the House Judiciary Committee’s allegations.
Then, on April 6, 2022, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “SEC Is Investigating How Amazon Disclosed Business Practices.” The article reported, inter alia, that the SEC’s probe has been underway for more than a year and focuses on Amazon’s disclosures regarding its use of third-party seller data for its own private-label business.
On this news, Amazon’s stock price fell $105.98 per share, or 3.2%, to close at $3,175.12 per share on April 6, 2022.
For more information on the Amazon class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/AMZN
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.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
