NEW YORK, Oct. 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 Live Ventures Incorporated (NASDAQ: LIVE), Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), Longeveron Inc. (NASDAQ: LGVN), and AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH). 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.
Live Ventures Incorporated (NASDAQ: LIVE)
Class Period: December 28, 2016 to August 3, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 12, 2021
On August 3, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against Live Ventures, its Chief Executive Officer, and its Chief Financial Officer alleging "multiple financial, disclosure, and reporting violations related to inflated income and earnings per share, stock promotion and secret trading, and undisclosed executive compensation." Specifically, the SEC alleged that Live Ventures had recorded income from a backdated contract, which increased pre-tax income for fiscal 2016 by 20%, and understated its outstanding share count, which overstated earnings per share by 40%.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $29.08, or 46%, to close at $33.50 per share on August 4, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The stock price continued to decline $7.74, or 23%, over the next four consecutive trading sessions to close at $25.76 per share on August 10, 2021
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 Live’s earnings per share for FY 2016 was actually only $6.33 per share; (2) that the Company used an artificially low share count to boost the earnings per share by 40%; (3) that Live had overstated pre-tax income for fiscal 2016 by 20% by including $915,500 of "other income” related to certain amendments that were not negotiated until after the close of the fiscal year; (4) that Live’s acquisition of ApplianceSmart did not close during first quarter 2017; (5) that using December 30, 2017 as the “acquisition date” and recognizing income therefrom did not conform to generally accepted accounting principles; (6) that, by falsely stating that the acquisition closed during the quarter, Live recognized bargain purchase gain, which enabled the Company to report positive net income in what would otherwise have been an unprofitable quarter; (7) that between fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2018, Live’s CEO received approximately 94% more in compensation than was disclosed to investors; and (8) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked reasonable basis at all relevant times.
For more information on the Live Ventures class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/LIVE
Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC)
Class Period: February 23, 2021 to July 29, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 19, 2021
On July 29, 2021, Generac issued a recall of certain models of the Company's portable generators, citing reports of seven finger amputations and a finger-crushing incident.
On this news, Generac’s stock price fell $31.04 per share, or 7.2%, over three trading sessions, closing at $400.00 per share on August 2, 2021.
According to the commplaint, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Generac’s portable generators posed an unreasonable risk of injury to users and the public; (2) as a result, at least seven finger amputations and one crushed finger had been reported to the Company; (3) as a result, Generac would face increased regulatory scrutiny; (4) the Company would end sales in its Generac® and DR® 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators in the United States and Canada in June 2021; (5) the Company would recall its Generac® and DR® 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators in the United States and Canada; (6) the end of sales and the recall would occur before the Company’s noted hurricane and wildfire seasons and following the Texas outage—periods the Company has touted for sales; and (7) as a result, defendants’ public statements and statements to journalists 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 Generac class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/GNRC
Longeveron Inc. (NASDAQ: LGVN)
Class Period: February 12, 2021 IPO; February 12, 2021 to August 12, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: November 12, 2021
On January 19, 2021, Longeveron filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on February 11, 2021 (the “Registration Statement”).
On or about February 12, 2021, pursuant to the Registration Statement, Longeveron’s Class A common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) under the ticker symbol “LGVN.”
Also on February 12, 2021, Longeveron filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus” and, together with the Registration Statement, the “Offering Documents”).
Pursuant to the Offering Documents, Longeveron conducted the IPO, issuing 2.66 million shares of its Class A common stock to the public at the Offering price of $10.00 per share, for approximate proceeds of $24.7 million to the Company after applicable underwriting discounts and commissions, and before expenses.
On August 13, 2021, Longeveron issued two press releases—one announcing topline results of the Phase 2b Aging Frailty Trial, and a second providing a corporate update and reporting the Company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2021. Both press releases disclosed, among other results, that Lomecel-B had “not achiev[ed] . . . statistical significance for the pairwise comparison to placebo” with respect to the primary efficacy endpoint.
On this news, Longeveron’s stock price fell $1.51 per share, or 27.91%, to close at $3.90 per share on August 13, 2021, representing a total decline of 61% from the Offering price.
The complaint 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. Additionally, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Lomecel-B was not as effective in treating aging frailty as Defendants had led investors to believe; (ii) accordingly, Lomecel-B’s clinical and commercial prospects with respect to aging frailty were overstated; and (iii) as a result, the Offering Documents and Defendants' public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
For more information on the Longeveron class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/LGVN
AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH)
Class Period: May 17, 2021 to August 10, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: November 23, 2021
On August 11, 2021, before the market opened, AppHarvest announced its second quarter financial results, reporting a $32.0 million net loss. The Company also lowered its full year sales guidance to a range of $7 million to $9 million, from a prior range of $20 million to $25 million. AppHarvest attributed the lower than expected results to “operational headwinds with the full ramp up to full production at the company’s first CEA facility, including labor and productivity challenges related to the training and development of the new workforce and historically low market prices for tomatoes.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $3.46, or approximately 29%, to close at $8.51 per share on August 11, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.
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 AppHarvest lacked sufficient training for its recently expanded labor force; (2) that, as a result, the Company could not produce Grade No. 1 tomatoes consistently; (3) that, as a result, the Company’s financial results would be adversely impacted; and (4) 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 AppHarvest class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/APPH
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
www.bespc.com
