NEW YORK, Aug. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against MINISO Group Holding Limited (NYSE: MNSO), Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC), Verano Holdings Corp. (OTCMKTS: VRNOF), and Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHAT). Our investigations concern whether these companies have violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
MINISO Group Holding Limited (NYSE: MNSO)
The investigation concerns whether MINISO and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
On or around October 15, 2020, MINISO conducted its initial public offering (“IPO”) of 30.4 million American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), priced at $20.00 per ADS.
On July 26, 2022, Blue Orca Capital (“Blue Orca”) published a short report concerning MINISO. Citing a “seven-month investigation of Chinese corporate records and store level data,” the Blue Orca report alleged, among other things, that “hundreds of [MINISO] stores are secretly owned and operated by MINISO executives or individuals closely connected to the chairman” and that “Chinese corporate filings also indicate . . . that the chairman siphoned hundreds of millions from the public company through opaque Caribbean jurisdictions as the middleman in a crooked headquarters deal.”
On this news, the price of MINISO’s ADS declined intraday to $6.13, $0.87 lower than the July 26, 2022 opening price and $13.87 below the IPO price.
For more information on the MINISO investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/MNSO
Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC)
On Thursday, March 31, 2022, the SPAC bringing former President Donald Trump's social media platform public, Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC), fell 5% after a report by Bloomberg that said downloads had decreased significantly.
A report on the site said daily downloads of the app had declined 95% since launching. Trump's Truth Social app launched on the Apple App Store in February 2022.
For more information on the Digital World investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/DWAC
Verano Holdings Corp. (OTCMKTS: VRNOF)
On July 27, 2022, Verano filed a Notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing that "[o]n July 26, 2022, as a result of internal compensation and tax reviews, certain accounting errors were uncovered and in consultation with Verano Holding Corp.'s (the ‘Company') management, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (the ‘Audit Committee') of the Company determined that the Company will be required to restate" its Unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, March 31, 2022, and for the year ended December 31, 2021. Verano specified that "the Audit Committee determined that the Company's stock-based compensation expense in connection with the Company's restricted stock units was understated in each of the Prior Period Financials (i) primarily as a result of calculating such expense as if each restricted stock unit vested into one share of the Company's Class A subordinate voting shares (‘SV Shares') instead of 100 SV Shares and (ii) to a lesser extent, as a result of, among other things, using the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value such restricted stock units instead of the date of grant trading price of the SV Shares underlying such restricted stock units, as listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. As a result of such understated stock-based compensation expense, the Company's tax expense in each of the Prior Periods Financials was overstated, and accordingly, the Company's tax obligation will be reduced."
On this news, Verano's stock price fell $0.24 per share, or 3.72%, to close at $6.22 per share on July 28, 2022.
For more information on the Verano investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/VRNOF
Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHAT)
On August 2, 2022, before market hours, Phathom issued a press release entitled “Phathom Pharmaceuticals Reports Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates” which announced that “we detected trace levels of a nitrosamine in vonoprazan drug product in our post-approval testing as we prepared for commercial launch.” Further, the press release announced that “[t]he Company is working with the FDA and plans to obtain approval of and implement an additional test method, specification, including a proposed acceptable intake limit, and additional controls to address this impurity prior to releasing our first vonoprazan-based products to the market.” Finally, the Company announced that “[t]hese additional activities will result in a delay of the planned VOQUEZNA DUAL PAK and VOQUEZNA TRIPLE PAK product launches.”
On this news, Phathom’s stock price fell $2.61 per share, or 28%, to close at $6.46 per share on August 2, 2022.
For more information on the Phathom investigation go to: https://www.bespc.com/cases/PHAT
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
