NEW YORK, June 03, 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 iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (Other OTC: ITHUF), iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ), GSX Techedu, Inc. (NYSE: GSX), and Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited (NYSE: DNK). 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.
iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (Other OTC: ITHUF)
Class Period: May 14, 2018 to April 6, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 15, 2020
In May of 2018, iAnthus entered into the $50 million 2018 Debenture Agreement with Gotham Green Partners (“GGP”). Among other things, that agreement provided for the withholding and escrow of $5,722,222.22 from the 2018 Debenture proceeds to pay one year’s interest on the 2018 Debentures in the event of iAnthus’ inability to make its interest payments under the agreement.
Then, on September 30, 2019, iAnthus and GGP entered into the Amended Debenture Agreement, which provided an additional $20 million to the Company. The Amended Debenture Agreement included the provision from the 2018 Debenture Agreement that provided for the withholding and escrow of $5,722,222.22 to pay one year’s interest under the Amended Debenture Agreement in the event that iAnthus was unable to make the required interest payments.
Although iAnthus never disclosed that the $5.72 million in escrowed funds was not available to fund iAnthus’ interest payments, on April 6, 2020, iAnthus announced that it had defaulted on $4.4 million in interest payments to GGP under the Amended Debenture Agreement on March 31, 2020.
On this news, shares of iAnthus fell over 61%, closing at $0.179 per share on April 6, 2020.
The complaint, filed on April 15, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made materially false and misleading statements, and omitted materially adverse facts, about the Company’s ability to pay its interest obligations under various debenture agreements. As a result of defendants’ alleged false and misleading statements, the Company’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
For more information on the iAnthus class action go to: https://bespc.com/ITHUF
iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ)
Class Period: March 29, 2018 to April 7, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 15, 2020
On April 7, 2020, Wolfpack Research released a report detailing, among other things, how iQIYI had misled investors and failed to disclose pertinent information generally and in its March 2018 initial public offering Registration Statement, including: (i) iQIYI overstating its user numbers; (ii) iQIYI inflating its revenues; (iii) iQIYI inflating expenses and prices of assets to conceal its revenue inflation; and (iv) iQIYI issuing misleading financial reporting creating the appearance of a cash generative company.
On this news, iQIYI’s share price fell $0.99 per share over the rest of the trading day and the next full trading day, or 5.6%, to close at $16.51 per share on April 8, 2020.
The complaint, filed on April 16, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) iQIYI inflated its revenue figures; (2) iQIYI inflated its user numbers; (3) iQIYI inflated its expenses to cover up other fraud; and (4) 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. According to the suit, these true details were disclosed by a market research firm.
For more information on the iQIYI class action go to: https://bespc.com/IQ
GSX Techedu, Inc. (NYSE: GSX)
Class Period: June 6, 2019 to April 13, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 16, 2020
On February 25, 2020, Grizzly Research LLC (“Grizzly”) published a report highlighting multiple alleged issues with GSX’s business and financial operations (the “Grizzly Report”). Specifically, the Grizzly Report alleged, among other issues, that the Company “has been drastically overstating its profitability in its US public filings, especially for 2018”; Grizzly “found multiple strong indications of past and current order ‘brushing,’” which are “essentially fake student enrollments to boost student count”; “many of GSX’s reported students do not actually exist”; and “[w]hile [GSX] touts its high-quality teacher recruitment mechanism, [Grizzly] found a sign-up website that was not functional, multiple allegations of GSX hiring teachers right out of college with no prior experience, and fabricated teachers profiles.”
Following publication of the Grizzly Report, GSX’s share price fell $1.33 per share, or 2.93%, to close at $44.09 per share on February 25, 2020.
Then, on April 14, 2020, Citron Research (“Citron”) published a report highlighting additional alleged issues with GSX’s business and financial operations (the “Citron Report”), including, among other issues, that the Company’s “2019 revenue was overstated by 70%,” that “sales revenues are largely exaggerated,” and that the Company’s “filings are riddled with suspicious transactions.”
Following the publication of the Citron Report, GSX’s share price fell $0.20 per share, or 0.64%, to close at $31.20 per share on April 14, 2020.
The complaint, filed on April 17, 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 that: (i) GSX overstated its profitability, revenue, student enrollment figures, teacher qualifications, and teacher selection process; (ii) the foregoing, once revealed, was foreseeably likely to have a material negative impact on the Company’s financial results; and (iii) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the GSX class action go to: https://bespc.com/GSX
Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited (NYSE: DNK)
Class Period: Securities purchased pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s January 22, 2020 initial public offering (the “IPO” or “Offering”).
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 26, 2020
Phoenix Tree, a holding company that leases and manages apartments in China, held its initial public offering (“IPO”) for its American Depositary Shares (“ADS”) on January 22, 2020, in which it sold 9.6 million ADS at $13.50 per share.
The complaint, filed on April 24, 2020, alleges that the IPO materials misrepresented and/or failed to disclose the nature and level of renter complaints that Phoenix Tree had received before and as of the IPO, plus the Company’s exposure to significant adverse developments resulting from the onset of COVID-19 in China.
The company’s ADS are presently trading around $6.59 each, or nearly half of their IPO price.
For more information on the Phoenix Tree Holdings class action go to: https://bespc.com/DNK
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