NEW YORK, April 07, 2021 (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 XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL), Bellus Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLU), Neptune Wellness Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEPT), and Sequential Brands Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQBG). 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.
XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL)
Class Period: September 2, 2020 to March 2, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 7, 2021
On March 3, 2021, Muddy Waters Research published a report entitled “XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL): More SPAC Trash,” alleging, among other things, that salespeople “were pressured to inflate their sales pipelines materially in order to mislead XL’s board and investors” and that “customer reorder rates are in reality quite low” due to “poor performance and regulatory issues.” Citing interviews with former employees, the report alleged that “at least 18 of 33 customers XL featured were inactive.” Muddy Waters also claimed that XL has “weak technology” and that “XL’s announcement of future class 7-8 upfits seems highly promotional” because the task is “too technologically complex for XL engineers to deliver on the promised timeline.”
On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $2.09, or 13%, to close at $13.86 per share on March 3, 2021. The share price continued to decline by $2.69, or 19.4%, over two consecutive trading sessions to close at $11.17 per share on March 5, 2021.
The complaint, filed on March 8, 2021, 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 XL Fleet’s salespeople were pressured to inflate their sales pipelines to boost the Company’s reported sales and backlog; (2) that at least 18 of the 33 customers that XL featured were inactive and had not placed an order since 2019; (3) that XL’s technology had been materially overstated and offered only 5% to 10% of fleet savings; (4) that XL lacks the supply chain and engineers to roll out new products on the announced timelines; 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 XL Fleet class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/XL
Bellus Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLU)
Class Period: September 5, 2019 to July 5, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 17, 2021
Bellus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose lead product is BLU-5937, which is being developed for the treatment of chronic cough (one that lasts over eight weeks) and other afferent hypersensitization-related disorders.
Before markets opened on July 6, 2020, defendants revealed the truth about BLU5937’s efficacy. They announced that the drug had failed a Phase 2 study of chronic cough patients for whom other treatments had not worked. Specifically, BLU-5937 was not significantly better than a placebo at reducing the frequency at which patients coughed. The Phase 2 trial showed a “clinically meaningful and highly statistically significant” effect only on a subset of patients who had high cough counts (around 32 per day), so the Company was planning a Phase 2b trial focused on those patients.
On this news, indicating that Bellus had fallen even further behind Merck in developing an FDA-approved treatment for refractory chronic cough, the Company’s stock price plummeted over 75% to close at $2.97 on July 8, 2020.
The complaint, filed on March 16, 2021, alleges that defendants’ scheme: (i) deceived the investing public regarding Bellus’s business, operations, drug products, drug product development, competition, and present and future business prospects; (ii) facilitated the Company’s September 2019 public offering (“Offering”); (iii) created artificial demand for the Bellus common shares sold in the Offering; (iv) enabled the Company to receive approximately $70 million in net proceeds from the sale of Bellus common stock in the Offering; and (v) caused Plaintiff and the Class to purchase Bellus publicly traded common stock at artificially inflated prices.
For more information on the Bellus Health class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/BLU
Neptune Wellness Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEPT)
Class Period: July 24, 2019 to February 16, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 17, 2021
On May 9, 2019, Neptune announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of SugarLeaf Labs, LLC and Forest Remedies LLC (collectively, “SugarLeaf”), a registered North Carolina-based commercial hemp company providing extraction services and formulated products (the “SugarLeaf Acquisition”). On July 24, 2019, Neptune announced the closing of the SugarLeaf Acquisition.
On February 15, 2021, Neptune announced disappointing financial results for the third quarter of the Company’s fiscal year 2021, missing analyst expectations. Among other results, Neptune reported third quarter revenues of CA$3.32 million and a net loss of CA$73.8 million, down 63.81% and over 1,000% year-over-year, respectively. Neptune attributed the net loss, in part, to a CA$35.6 million impairment of goodwill and a CA$2.1 million impairment of “property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets related to the acquisition of SugarLeaf in July 2019,” as well as accelerated amortization of CA$13.95 million “also related to the SugarLeaf acquisition.” Additionally, the Company disclosed that its “[g]ross margin declined to a loss of 268.3%,” which included a non-cash CA$7.39 million “write-down of inventory and deposits to reflect their net realizable value.”
On this news, Neptune’s stock price fell $0.86 per share, or 30.71%, to close at $1.94 per share on February 16, 2021.
Then, on February 17, 2021, prior to the start of the day’s trading session, Neptune issued a press release announcing the termination of an at-the-market offering conducted by the Company, selling 9,570,735 of its common shares and raising approximately $18.6 million in gross proceeds. Just minutes later, Neptune issued a second press release announcing that the Company was conducting a $55 million registered direct offering.
On this news, Neptune’s stock price fell another $0.21 per share, or 10.82%, to close at $1.73 per share on February 17, 2021.
The complaint, filed on March 16, 2021, 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) the cost of Neptune’s integration of the assets and operations acquired in the SugarLeaf Acquisition would be larger than the Company had acknowledged, placing significant strain on the Company’s capital reserves; (ii) accordingly, it was reasonably foreseeable that the company would need to conduct additional stock offerings to raise more capital; and (iii) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the Neptune Wellness class action case go to: https://bespc.com/cases/NEPT
Sequential Brands Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQBG)
Class Period: November 3, 2016 to December 11, 2020
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 17, 2021
On February 28, 2018, Sequential Brands Group issued a press released entitled “Sequential Brands Group Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Financial Results” which belatedly announced the goodwill adjustment.
On this news, Sequential Brands Group’s stock price fell $6.80 per share, or 8%, to close at $76.00 per share on February 28, 2018.
Then on December 11, 2020, the SEC filed a Complaint alleging that the Company failed “to take into consideration clear, objective evidence of likely goodwill impairment, which avoided and delayed a material write down to goodwill in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first three quarters of 2017 (the ‘Relevant Period’).”
On this news, Sequential Brands Group’s stock price fell $2.03 per share, or 11%, to close at $16.20 per share on December 11, 2020.
The complaint, filed on March 16, 2021, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) in late 2016, the Company knew or should have known that its goodwill was likely impaired; (2) the Company avoided and delayed the material write down to goodwill in late 2016 through 2017; (3) the Company understated its operating expenses and net loss and also materially overstated its income from operations, goodwill, and assets from late 2016 through 2017; (4) the Company’s internal controls were deficient; (5) the Company has failed to restate, correct, or disclose relevant improprieties, deceptive conduct, misstatements, omissions, and control violations; (6) as a result of the foregoing, the Company was at greater risk of regulatory scrutiny and enforcement; and (7) 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 Sequential Brands class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SQBG
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.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
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