NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 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 Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP), Polished.com, Inc. (NYSEAmerican: POL), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and FIGS, Inc. (NYSE: FIGS). 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.
Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP)
Class Period: October 31, 2017 - November 18, 2018
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 20, 2022
Compass Minerals mines and produces essential minerals, including salt for winter roadway safety and other consumer, industrial, and agricultural uses, and specialty plant nutrition minerals that improve the quality and yield of crops. During the Class Period, Compass Minerals operated three business segments: the Salt segment, the Plant Nutrition North America segment, and the Plant Nutrition South America segment. Within the Salt segment, Compass Minerals operated the largest underground rock salt mine in the world in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, which Compass Minerals routinely hailed as the “crown jewel” of its asset portfolio. Prior to the start of the Class Period, defendants announced that Compass Minerals was investing in upgrades to the mining system at Goderich, from drilling-and-blasting to continuous mining and continuous haulage (“CMCH”), primarily in an effort to reduce costs and improve profitability.
The Compass Minerals class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period repeatedly assured investors that the CMCH upgrade at the Goderich mine was on track to materially reduce costs and boost Compass Minerals’ operating results starting in 2018. However, defendants’ statements were misleading because they failed to tell investors that costs at the Goderich mine were increasing rather than decreasing. The Compass Materials class action lawsuit further alleges that defendants also misrepresented the amount of salt Compass Minerals was able to produce at Goderich using the new CMCH equipment and failed to disclose how the known and ongoing production shortfalls it was experiencing were reasonably expected to reduce its future operating income.
On February 13, 2018, Compass Minerals announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. On the following day, Compass Minerals held an earnings call for analysts and investors to discuss the fourth quarter results.
On this news, Compass Minerals’ stock price declined by more than 9% over the following two trading days.
Then, on August 7, 2018, Compass Minerals announced its second quarter of fiscal 2018 results, attributing the decrease in Salt operating earnings to various costs overruns, unrelated to the CMCH transition.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by 4.3%.
Next, October 23, 2018, Compass Minerals pre-announced third quarter 2018 financial results that were significantly below expectations and lowered its outlook for the remainder of the year.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by more than 30% over the following two trading days.
Finally, on November 19, 2018, Compass Energy announced the abrupt termination of its CEO, defendant Francis J. Malecha.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by an additional 8% over the following three days, further damaging investors.
For more information on the Compass class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CMP
Polished.com, Inc. (NYSEAmerican: POL)
Class Period: July 27, 2020 - August 25, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 30, 2022
According to the lawsuit, the registration statement supporting the IPO was false and/or misleading and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company would restate certain financials; (2) the Company’s internal controls were inadequate; (3) the Company downplayed and obfuscated its internal controls issues; (4) as a result, the Company would engage in an independent investigation; (5) as a result of the investigation, the Company would, among other things, retain independent counsel and consultants, and delay its quarterly filings in violation of NYSE requirements of listing; (6) following the commencement of the investigation, the Company’s CEO and CFO would leave the Company; and (7) as a result, defendants’ public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times. Also according to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company’s internal controls were inadequate; (2) the Company downplayed and obfuscated its internal controls issues; (3) the Company did not properly construct or remediate its inadequate and ineffective internal controls; (4) contrary to the Company’s statements, the Company was not remediating its internal controls; (5) as a result, the Company would engage in an independent investigation; (6) as a result of the investigation, the Company would, among other things, retain independent counsel and consultants, and delay its quarterly filings in violation of NYSE requirements of listing; (7) following the commencement of the investigation, the Company’s CEO and CFO would leave the Company; and (8) 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 Polished class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/POL
US Bancorp (NYSE: USB)
Class Period: August 1, 2019 - July 28, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 27, 2022
U.S. Bancorp (“Company”) is a Delaware company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. U.S. Bancorp provides a full range of financial services, including lending and depository services, cash management, capital markets, and trust and investment management services. It also engages in credit card services, merchant and ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, and leasing. U.S. Bancorp’s banking subsidiary, U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”), is engaged in the general banking business, principally in domestic markets. U.S. Bancorp is the publicly traded parent company of U.S. Bank.
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: (a) U.S. Bank created sales pressure on its employees that led them to open credit cards, lines of credit, and deposit accounts without consumers’ knowledge and consent; (b) since at least 2015, U.S. Bank and by extension, U.S. Bancorp, was aware of such unauthorized conduct and that it was violating relevant regulations and laws aimed at protecting its consumers; (c) U.S. Bancorp failed to properly monitor its employees from engaging in such unlawful conduct, detect and stop the misconduct, and identify and remediate harmed consumers; (d) all the foregoing subjected the Company to a foreseeable risk of heightened regulatory scrutiny or investigation; (e) U.S. Bancorp’s revenues were in part the product of unlawful conduct and thus unsustainable; and (f) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 28, 2022, the truth about U.S. Bancorp’s practices was disclosed when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a Consent Order and fined U.S. Bank $37.5 million for illegally exploiting consumers’ personal data to open sham accounts for unsuspecting customers.
On this news, the price of U.S. Bancorp stock declined 4% to close at $46.12 on July 28, 2022.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
For more information on the US Bancorp class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/USB
FIGS, Inc. (NYSE: FIGS)
Class Period: May 27, 2021 - May 12, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: January 3, 2023
FIGS, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer healthcare apparel and lifestyle company in the United States. Best known for its medical scrubs, it also designs and sells other healthcare apparel, such as lab coats, under scrubs, outerwear, activewear, loungewear, compression socks footwear, and masks.
On June 1, 2021, FIGS announced the closing of its IPO. Defendants offered shares at $22 per share. Leading up to the IPO and during the Class Period, defendants: (i) inflated the Company's true ability to successfully secure repeat customers; (ii) failed to disclose the Company's increasing dependence on air freight; and (iii) inflated the expected net revenues, gross margin, and adjusted EBITDA margin for 2022.
The Registration Statement claimed that due to the Company's access to significant customer data, it was able to maintain an efficient and steady supply chain. The truth was, however, that the Company's access to data did not allow it to mitigate supply chain problems through predictable sales. Instead, FIGS had to increasingly rely on air freight that costs materially more than the overseas shipping it was previously reliant on. The Registration Statement blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the use of air freight in the time leading up to the IPO. The truth, was, however, that FIGS was continually relying on air freight for its business. Even after the IPO, as the Company continued to rely on cost air freight, the defendants continued to claim that air freight was transitory. For example, defendants stated that the use of air freight was at its "peak" during the fourth quarter of 2021, and that "we're pretty confident that we're going to see less airfreight overall than we're seeing it in [the fourth quarter] as we get into [2022]."
On May 12, 2022, the Company announced disappointing results and slashed its expected sales, gross margin, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") because of these "supply chain" issues. FIGS also admitted that not only did they continue to rely on air freight during the first quarter of 2022, but that "[f]or the rest of the year, we plan to significantly increase our use of airfreight to reduce our exposure to these unpredictable transit times." On this news, the Company's stock price fell $3.21 per share, approximately 25%, to just $9.64 per share.
For more information on the FIGS class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FIGS
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
